MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Even with Shelby County Schools delaying its high school football season indefinitely, several municipality and private school teams will kick off this Friday.
Will they get to finish the season? No one can answer that right now. But the coaches we spoke to say it is worth trying. As the cliche goes, just take it one game at a time.
"Obviously it could change at any minute," Christian Brothers High School head coach Thomas McDaniel said. "But right now, we're playing on Friday, so I know we're excited."
The Purple Wave will be at Houston Friday. Briarcrest Christian School will play at Collierville. Arlington will host Halls. They are among an incredibly small handful of games going on in the Memphis Metro area.
"Just having that 'What if?' feeling all offseason, and now that it's here," CBHS junior quarterback Ashton Strother said. "It's a blessing."
The Friday Night Lights will go on without much of the usual pageantry.
"There is not going to be a band, there's not going to be cheerleaders. There's not going to be a pom squad," Houston head coach James Thomas said. "It is just going to be parents, family, and the jumbotron will be the loudest person in the stadium."
There are no team buses. Players do not have locker room access. Stadiums will be limited to less than 10% capacity to allow for 12 feet of social distancing among fans, who like the teams, will have temperature checks before entering.
"It's all different," Briarcrest head coach Brian Stewart said. "But it is something we're willing to go through so we can play on Fridays."
The protocols mirror the guidelines put in place for Memphis 901 FC matches and Tigers football games. As the first high schools in Shelby County to suit up, there is also a tremendous responsibility to create the safest possible environment for football to continue.
"These kids were out in the spring, and missed a ton of their activities whether it's baseball or track or lacrosse," Stewart said. "Now they get to come out and they get to compete. There's nothing better than that."
"Just the blessing of us being able to play," McDaniel said. "I think right now that's bigger than anything. Yeah, we want to win, but just getting this chance, we feel pretty fortunate."