Heat causing changes in kickoff times; Julian-Lanier game moved to Tuskegee on Saturday

Teams playing at Cramton Bowl this season will play on a new turf which was installed earlier this summer. (Tim Gayle)

By GRAHAM DUNN

The excessive heat is causing changes in the opening week of high school football with several games moving kickoff back at least 30 minutes and in some cases, an hour.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association announced earlier in the week that both games in the Kickoff Classic will begin at 8 p.m., both Thursday’s game between Selma and Beauregard and Friday’s matchup between Thompson and Opelika.

The predicted temperatures at 7 p.m. for each game is expected to be near 100 degrees but the is a slight fall in the temperature to around 90 degrees each day.

“Several schools reached out and asked if they would mind moving kickoff back to allow a slight decrease in the temperature,” AHSAA’s Ron Ingram said. “Coach (Alvin) Briggs and the staff agreed and now there are some schools moving their kickoff back.”

One game in the area has moved its start time back to 8 p.m. The annual battle between Tallassee and Reeltown will also begin at 8 p.m.

Another game up in the air involves R.E. Lee-P. Julian and Sidney Lanier, which was originally scheduled to be played at Wetumpka Municipal Stadium. But an announcement late Tuesday stated the game would not be played there and its future was up in the air.

Lanier coach Darone Fagan confirmed the game has been moved to Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee on Saturday at 8 p.m.

All games will follow heat timeout protocols with an extra timeout in the middle of each quarter. Game officials may also extend timeouts between quarters.

NFHS rules also give officials permission to grant timeouts at any time during the contest.

Teams playing at Cramton Bowl this week will break in a new turf recently installed. It replaces the turf that was installed 10 years ago.

The weekend also includes the FCS Kickoff featuring North Alabama and Mercer at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.