Hurricane Helene wreaks havoc with athletic schedules

Published 4:09 pm Friday, September 27, 2024

Hurricane Helene has caused quite a bit of movement in area high school football schedules.

Some teams went ahead and moved their games as soon as school was canceled while others tried to hold on to the traditional 7:30 p.m. Friday kickoff. In the end, most every matchup in Baldwin and the surrounding counties had to be rescheduled.

Baldwin High School announced late Friday morning that it’s home region game against West Laurens has been shifted to Monday “due to power outages and damages” from the storm. Monday’s kickoff time had not been determined as of press time Friday. Keep an eye on the Baldwin High School Facebook page for that announcement.

GMC Prep and Twiggs County decided early that their region opener originally set for Friday in Jeffersonville would move to a later date. It was an easy decision as the two schools already shared Oct. 18 as an open week on their schedules. That’s when the contest will be made up, still at Twiggs County.

John Milledge’s game at Stratford changed venues to Mercer University’s Five Star Stadium in Macon Friday, and kickoff was moved an hour later to 8:30 p.m. Stratford’s campus did not have power as of late Friday morning. Visit unionrecorder.com for coverage of that game.

Putnam County High School announced Thursday afternoon that its home region game against Social Circle was pushed to 1 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 28). Putnam’s Al Reaves Field in Eatonton will still be the venue.

Gatewood was scheduled to get into region play at Augusta Prep Friday, but those schools agreed on a 2 p.m. Saturday kickoff instead.

The Hancock Central-Johnson County bout is in the exact same situation as GMC Prep-Twiggs. Both Hancock and Johnson shared an open date, so their matchup originally scheduled for Friday has been moved to Oct. 18 in Wrightsville.

Wilkinson County was supposed to have its homecoming game Friday versus Glascock. Instead, the two teams will meet Thursday, Oct. 17 at Wilco. Homecoming activities have been moved to the Oct. 11 home game against Johnson County.

The matchup between the top two teams in GIAA Class AA – Brentwood and Briarwood – has been shifted to a Monday night contest in Sandersville. The first of what could be multiple meetings between the two teams this season will kick off at 7 p.m. Both teams will have a quick turnaround as they have games scheduled for Oct. 4 as well, Brentwood at home versus Edmund Burke Academy and Briarwood at home against Augusta Prep.

Washington County didn’t seem to mind its own quick turnaround. The Golden Hawks defeated Bleckley County last Friday, Sept. 20 then saw its next game at Central of Macon get moved to Wednesday. WaCo whacked Central 40-0 in the midweek matchup to even its record at 3-3.

GCSU Athletics announces changes

The Georgia College & State University volleyball match against Shorter University scheduled for Friday has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. The volleyball team will open their Peach Belt Conference schedule with a 2 p.m. home match against Flagler College Sunday (Sept. 29).

Activities planned for Family Weekend have been rescheduled to Nov. 1-2.

The women’s soccer PBC match against Flagler scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 28) has been moved to Sunday (Sept. 29) at 11 a.m. at the Bobcat Soccer Field.

The Bobcat Invitational cross country meet scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 28) at the Council Farms Cross Country Course is still on. The women’s race is a 9 a.m. start followed by the men’s race at 10 a.m.

GCSU asks to please monitor the GCSU athletics website and social media channels for any updates to this emerging situation.