Any football season is better than no football season for Texas high schools
Depressed.
That’s how Tim Buchanan would describe his mindset the last few weeks. The idea of no high school football season this fall, even in a state such as Texas that prides itself on Friday Night Lights, seemed like a grim reality amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With the rising number of COVID-19 cases and no way to turn the sport into a socially-distanced affair, high school football could have become the next pandemic casualty.
But that’s not happening. At least not yet.
The University Interscholastic League is trying to make the best of a dire situation. No, it’s not going to please everybody. No, it’s not a one-size-fits-all formula. But, hey, any football season is better than no football season for those involved with high school athletics.
“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever been more depressed than I’ve been these last few weeks,” said Buchanan, who is entering his 23rd season and has won six state championships as Aledo’s head coach.
“I was really worried we were not going to play football this fall and these seniors were going to miss out on senior year. You know people say, ‘It’s just football,’ but it’s more than just football to these kids. It’s something they’ll never get back. Every kid looks forward to their senior year of high school.”
That rings true whether the senior is on the field or in the stands. Friday Night Lights are an experience most cherish when they look back on their high school years.
For Class 6A and 5A schools, the football season will be delayed by five weeks at least. Class 4A and below will remain on schedule depending on where schools based and local mandates.
Because of the delay, Aledo, a Class 5A school in Parker County, now expects to begin practice on Sept. 7 and open its season against another Parker County-based school, Weatherford, on Sept. 25. Well, Tarrant County-based schools aren’t going to have the green-light to play games until the first week of October with in-person instruction starting Sept. 28.
And it’ll likely be closer to the middle of October if schools want to get in an adequate number of practices and scrimmages before starting the season. That would mean one or two fewer games for 5A and 6A schools in Tarrant County, and possibly five fewer games for 4A schools in the area such as Kennedale.
“Maybe our season isn’t a 10-game schedule, but we just want an opportunity to play,” Kennedale coach Richard Barrett said. “I know the UIL, TEA, governor’s office is taking the precautions they need to ensure the safety of our kids. We have a healthy respect for what they do and all the decisions they have to make which is so difficult. We hope we get to play. We think we’ll get to play.”
Added Buchanan: “Five of the schools in our district are following Tarrant County protocols, so we’re still trying to figure out how and when we’re going to be playing district games. I know it’s not perfect — some people aren’t happy and some people are really happy — but I appreciate the UIL doing what it’s done. That’s not an easy job coming up with a plan, but it’s as good and equitable of a plan as they could come up with under the circumstances.”
For Buchanan, he hasn’t heard any concerns about returning to football from players or parents at the high school level. The only concerned email he’s received is from one parent of a middle-school player.
Barrett said he’s heard from a few parents who are concerned about having their kids practicing and preparing for a season during the pandemic.
But, for the most part, kids seem eager to play.
“The threat of not getting to play has really hit home with these kids. They realize what they almost lost,” Buchanan said. “Normally a kid is out of school a few years before they realize how much they miss and how much high school athletics meant to them. These kids saw first-hand the threat of not playing, so they want to be here and they want to play.”
Especially those students who aspire to play at the next level. Jeremy Clark, a recruiting guru for 247Sports and publisher of Horned Frog Blitz, said a canceled football season would have a devastating impact on the recruiting side.
No season would mean under-recruited seniors hoping to play at the next level would have no avenue to generate film to get on college radars. And, for sophomores and juniors, this is a big year to boost their stocks.
“Football, more than any other sport, would be hurt the most without a season,” Clark said. “Baseball and soccer and volleyball all get recruited through club or select teams, but high school football is where college coaches watch and evaluate kids.”
