Reggie Connell
High school football is here – seriously.
Despite a rocky road of false starts, fluid scheduling, limited practices, and an unprecedented variable of unknowns, high schools from around northeast Florida will turn on their lights tonight and play football.
Nothing has changed, except for everything.
Our communities, as well as the state, country, and world, are enduring a pandemic. And because of this, the 2020 high school football season will look like none we’ve ever seen before. During the summer, it was no certainty that a season would even happen. But for now, for tonight, it’s a go!
And while the schedule is shortened and detached, something is better than nothing.
2020 will be our first season of high school football coverage since launching Mainstreet Daily News, and we couldn’t be more excited. We’re partnering with the voice of high school sports in the region, Mike Ridaught of theprepzone.com, to bring you not only features and stories during the week, but comprehensive reporting on games throughout the area.
Mike will also be announcing the Friday night Game of the Week between the Newberry Panthers and the Hawthorne Hornets. Pregame is at 7. Kickoff is at 7:30, and you can hear it on I Am Country 106.9 FM.
And because COVID-19 is making this season challenging to attend games in person, we are taking an extra step. On Friday nights, Mainstreet Daily News will publish breaking stories and scores not only from Gainesville, but also from Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, and Union Counties.
You can check out all the scores on game night at mainstreetdailynews.com under the breaking news banner at the top of the page. We will also post final scores and summary articles on your favorite social media pages and our Facebook page.
We hope you enjoy our coverage of high school football in 2020. We hope it informs, entertains, and inspires you. Let’s pray that these brave student-athletes stay safe and healthy in this, the most unusual of seasons.