Getting set for football

The Big 10 and the PAC 12 have pulled the plug and cancelled the 2020 football season, the SEC and the ACC are still on go and Flomaton High School head football coach Doug Vickery said he's very optimistic that high school football will be played this fall.

"Football means a lot in the south," Vickery said. "I think the south will play football."

Scheduling may take detours along the way, but Vickery said he's confident they will be playing.

Flomaton was scheduled to open the season Aug. 21 hosting Choctaw County, but the school has opted out of football this fall and the game has been cancelled. Flomaton was then scheduled to play Northview on Aug. 28 and Jay on Sept. 4, but those games were taken off the schedule after Florida moved its starting time back.

Coach Vickery said Flomaton and Jay each had an open date Sept. 25 and the two teams will hopefully play at Jay on that date. Flomaton also filled some of the early slots with the Hurricanes scheduled to open the season Aug. 28 by hosting Pleasant Home, host Cottage Hill on Sept. 11 and travel to Chickasaw on Sept. 18.

"There's a lot going on right now with the colleges," Vickery said. "I have mixed emotions, we know COVID is out there but I think it's important we play."

"Kids have worked so hard over the years," he said. "How do you snatch that away? These students need football, the band members need band and the cheerleaders need cheerleading."

Vickery said they are doing everything possible to keep the players and coaches safe, noting they take temperatures every day and are thoroughly cleaning everything every day. He said the weights in the weight room now have rust due to cleaning them with bleach every time they are used.

Coaches are wearing masks at practice, everybody is washing their hands and using sanitizer. He also said the footballs are wiped off with Clorox after every practice.

"It may be different, but I think we're going to play," Vickery said. "We've got to just trust the good Lord, but these students need to get back to something normal."

Vickery said he realizes there is a risk, but noted he has a son on the football team and feels it's best that he's playing football.

"We have risks every day," Vickery said. "We take a risk every time we get into a vehicle. You have to trust a higher power. You can't live your life in fear."

Vickey said he has talked to a lot of other high school coaches and they are also very optimistic that high school football will be played this fall.

After the Sept. 25 game at Jay, Flomaton's current schedule has the Hurricanes traveling to Bayside on Oct. 2, hosting Excel for homecoming on Oct. 9, traveling to Hillcrest on Oct. 16, hosting T.R. Miller on Oct. 23 and hosting Escambia County High School from Atmore on either Oct. 29 or 30.

The first round of Alabama's high school playoffs is scheduled to begin on Nov. 6.