SCHSL approves proposal that will give Loris, Waccamaw scheduling relief

Twenty Class AA football teams were given a bit of scheduling relief in an action conducted by the division’s region coordinators on Tuesday.

A fast-acting proposal to move the 10 Class AA games from last week that have yet to be played to Nov. 6 and push back the start of the playoffs one week was approved by the South Carolina High School League late Tuesday morning.

It will at least partially alleviate some of the safety and scheduling concerns schools were facing following the heavy rains and ensuing flooding that hit the state in the last several days. Locally, it will help area teams Waccamaw and Loris, which were still attempting to find a way to play their Week 6 games originally scheduled from last Friday while avoiding a scenario in which they would have had to play three games in 10 days – or less.

“As opposed to playing three games without much preparation time, we’re going to play one game without much preparation time, and that’s the game this week,” Loris coach Jamie Snider said, adding that his team was looking at three games in eight days. “I’m just glad [the SCHSL] said it’s a good idea. This makes it fair for everyone involved.”

The plan only works this smooth in Class AA, where the back end of the playoffs includes an off week between the state semifinals and finals in both the Division-I and Division-II brackets. The teams preparing for the state finals will have to play the day after Thanksgiving now, but the South Carolina High School League contract with Benedict College for the state finals won’t be affected.

In Class AAAA, AAA and A, there is no postseason off week.

The remaining Class AA games yet to be played from last week are the two from Region VIII (Loris-Marion and Mullins-Waccamaw), all three from Region VI and VII and two from Region V. The SCHSL sent out a memo on Monday allowing teams to shift their schedules.

However, even teams able to play on Wednesday would have had to turn around and play their regularly scheduled games for this week by Monday, then turn around toward the end of next week and play a third game, in order to get back on track.

News of that idea didn’t sit well with coaches, some of whom took to Twitter to voice their disapproval. Tuesday’s move, though, quelled some of those concerns. Teams unable to play this week will also have the option of the Week 11 window.

The SCHSL formally announced the change Tuesday afternoon, but it was something that Snider and Aynor coach Jody Jenerette said started coming to fruition the day before when Dillon coach Jackie Hayes began pushing for it.

“He had no reason to. He got his game in,” Snider said. “But it was better for the kids.”

It also means the Week 7 games for this week are expected to be played at or close to the previous schedule, barring further school closures, travel or field issues in the coming days. On the Grand Strand, Waccamaw will head to Loris and Aynor will host Marion.

All local teams from the state’s other classes were able to complete their games last week. So far, either their fields are expected to be ready to go for their planned contests this Friday or they are exploring other options to keep them on schedule.

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 2:05 PM with the headline "SCHSL approves proposal that will give Loris, Waccamaw scheduling relief."