Hurricane Idalia has already made its presence felt on area high school football games scheduled for this Friday night.
On Tuesday, Union County football coach Andrew Thomas confirmed that his game at Columbia (Lake City) has been postponed for this Friday. He provided this feedback from his superintendent:
“Due to issues related to Hurricane Idalia and out of an abundance of caution, the following football games will not take place this week:
- The Junior Varsity football game at Bradford
- The Varsity football game at Columbia County
We hope to be able to reschedule these games later in the season if possible. During the next several days we hope that students, parents, and members of each community remain safe through the storm and are able to return to their normal activities as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding in this matter and we look forward to resuming our normal activities next week.”
Union County (1-0) defeated Interlachen, 43-0, last Friday, while Columbia’s game was postponed on Friday night in Lake City and then completed on Saturday in Gainesville. The Tigers lost to Buchholz, 41-13, to drop to 0-1.
The two teams do not have a common open date so there is uncertainty about when or if the game will be played this season.
“We know Lake Butler has had cancellations in years past so if there’s a cancellation and we can make something happen, we’ve played two games in a week before,” Columbia coach Brian Allen told the Lake City Reporter. “If it’s a Monday and a Friday per se we could make that happen.”
Weather hasn’t been the only factor as Columbia has tightened security since an off-field incident during last Friday’s game.
According to the Bradford County Telegraph, Bradford’s football game at Baldwin this Friday night at 6:30 p.m. has been postponed until Saturday, Sept. 2, and will now be played at David Hurse Stadium in Starke. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
With the possible trajectory of Hurricane Idalia affecting Tallahassee, the Leon at Gainesville game is one of many games that are being closely watched.
“We are going to assess tomorrow evening and figure out what to do then,” said GHS Athletics Director Phillip Knight.
With schools missing practice, plus the uncertainty of damage and other contributing factors, most schools are taking a wait and see approach. Hurricane Idalia is set to make landfall on Wednesday and bring with it the potential for 110 mph winds in more than half of Alachua County.
Please email any postponements or canceled game info to mike.ridaught@mainstreetdailynews.com.