GHSA Delays Start of Football Season for Two Weeks

The Georgia High School Association announced earlier this week that the start of the 2020 football season will be delayed until September 4.

Previously, games were scheduled to begin August 21. As of now football will be the only sport delayed in terms of events or games. Cross country, volleyball and softball will begin as normally scheduled although local school districts could decide to delay games for their teams.

Jasper County-Monticello High School was set to begin the new season August 21 at Mount de Sales in Macon. That game will now be played September 4, per GHSA mandate.

Canes coach Rydell Jackson said Monday afternoon he was glad to hear no games have been cancelled. The coach said he feared that only region games might be played which would have been tough on the bottom line for athletic budgets.

A full 10-game football schedule will be played for 2020 followed by the postseason.

Jasper County-Monticello has non-region games scheduled with Mount de Sales, Putnam County, Morgan County and Greene County. Non-region contests are typically scheduled against schools in close proximity to help bring in a larger gate revenue. These games were scheduled at least partially with that in mind.

Dates for preseason scrimmages will also change. The Canes were scheduled to host George Walton Academy on August 14 but with the regular season now pushed back that event will likely be August 28. Scrimmages are being penciled in for August 21 and August 28.

“We will be fine,” Jackson said. “We are just going to keep working and preparing. In some ways we would have liked to have gone ahead and gotten the season started but this will allow for more preparation time.”

The coach said the players continue to work hard and are eager to take the field for the 2020 season. Previously the GHSA allowed players to begin wearing helmets at workouts this week.

Some states have postponed their fall sports schedules. California was considering delaying its fall sports until December.

Piedmont Academy is a member of the GISA and its 2020 football schedule is still set. The Cougars will open their regular season August 28 against Central Christian on the road in Sharpsburg. Piedmont will compete in a preseason scrimmage the previous week at John Hancock Academy in Sparta.

The Cougars will play their first three regular season contests on the road.