Impending arrival of tropical weather wreaks havoc on high school football schedule

In his previous role as athletic director, Conway's Chuck Jordan would monitor the weather report like a hawk, every change in the forecast having a role in deciding whether a sporting event will be played or not.

“These days, I honestly only think about the weather report when it comes time to paint the field,” the longtime football coach joked. “It really isn't something I worry all that much about now.”

But sometimes Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and as a result tends to drag everyone else along for the ride.

With Tropical Storm Hermine on a bee-line for the South Carolina coast, area coaches are adjusting their schedules in an effort to get the games in – and most importantly, keep people safe.

“Typically, it doesn’t bother us much if there is a little rain in the forecast,” said Waccamaw head football coach Tyronne Davis. “But you start talking about the potential for heavy rain, you tend to pay a little more attention, especially on a weekend where so many people will be on the road and expected to travel.

According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to arrive Friday afternoon, bringing with it gusty winds and several inches of rain. With that in mind, area squads were faced with the choice of keeping their games on Friday and risk playing in a quagmire, or move them up a day and play Thursday evening.

Each of them opted to play it safe, though chose their own way of doing so.

“Bring on the rain, we’re more than happy to get down and dirty,” Aynor head football coach Jody Jenerette joked. “But more importantly, we want people to be safe. We would never jeopardize that.”

Three matchups will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday: Andrews-Georgetown; Carolina Forest-St. James; and Carvers Bay-Waccamaw.

A pair of games were moved to a 7 p.m. start time, as North Myrtle Beach will welcome West Brunswick to Little River, along with Aynor paying a visit to Green Sea Floyds.

Conway’s matchup with Wilson, and Loris’ journey to Tabor City, N.C., to take on South Columbus will both kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

The lone game originally scheduled for Thursday night – Myrtle Beach and West Florence – will remain at its previously scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Impending arrival of tropical weather wreaks havoc on high school football schedule."