SPORTS OPINION: There should be a deadline to change game start times

Last week was unusual, but in a way we’re getting used to it.

All week, we enjoy decent weather with mostly mild temperatures, blue skies, sunshine, beautiful sunsets and clear night skies full of stars and whatever phase the moon is in.

Then Friday comes, and clouds come in and the weather drops a large bucket of water on almost every football stadium in rural West Tennessee while teams are trying to play a game of tackle football.

Last week’s uniqueness came from the fact that we definitely knew the remnants of Hurricane Helena were coming and would drop a few inches on the whole state. Fortunately in West Tennessee, the ground is pretty flat and while our neighbors to the west and east might have to be worried about possible dam breaches on the Mississippi or Tennessee rivers, for the most part, I’m glad we shouldn’t have to worry too much about being in a situation like our friends in East Tennessee and North Carolina found themselves in last week.

Fortunately, the main thing I have to complain about regarding football and the weather isn’t a huge deal, but it’s worth mentioning in this space.

I get that game and school administrators want to keep athletes and everyone else safe when it comes to the weather, but there has to be a limit on kickoff times for games.

Last week on Thursday morning, I’m sitting in a Madison County Commission meeting, prepared for a nearly full night of football with everyone playing in the county except North Side and University School of Jackson.

Then I get a text from North Side coach Woodrow Lowe Jr. and Jackson-Madison County Schools information officer Greg Hammond both saying the same thing - North Side’s game at Dyersburg has been moved to Thursday after getting every assurance on Wednesday they’d be playing as scheduled on Friday.

I haven’t talked to Lowe or anyone else at North Side about this, but that’s got to have some kind of effect on the team. Because it’s one thing to move the game start earlier in the week - even on Wednesday.

At least at that point, you’ve got a day to get ready.

Then suddenly, the Indians aren’t just playing early … they’re playing in about eight hours.

I’m thinking about running for President (yes, I’m a better option than both candidates running right now, and I approve this message), and one executive order I will make once I get into office is saying all football games have to be moved before the day of the game.

Fans and other stakeholders were prepared to change their plans for a Thursday game. Then they were told they wouldn’t need to.

Selfishly, I was looking forward to possibly covering a historical win for Liberty on Thursday then going to Dyersburg to watch North Side the next night, and that chance was taken away from me.

Does a high school athlete need more than eight hours to get mentally ready for a football game? Maybe. Probably not. I don’t know. But I know everyone likes to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming game.

Anyway, to the picks. I had my worst week since Week 1 last week because I was way too confident in the public schools, who I picked to win all four of their games and Jackson Central-Merry was the only winner. I finished 4-3, bringing my season record to 22-12.

This week’s picks: 

North Side 42, JCM 38: I don’t want to pick against JCM’s undefeated streak, but I also don’t want to pick against North Side’s speed and ability to move the ball. The thing that concerns me is JCM plays better defense than North Side most of the time, so if JCM can keep the scoring low, I like their chances to win. I just think that if it’s a shootout like both teams have been in, I think it will be tougher for JCM to win this one compared to trying to beat Milan who didn’t have a kicker.

Northpoint Christian 24, USJ 21: This is the fourth time I’ve picked the Bruins to lose, but I think this will be when the win streak ends. Northpoint comes in with three losses, but they’re playing a tough schedule. How tough? We’ll have a better idea after Friday.

Jackson Christian 42, FACS 14: The Eagles have dominated this series since 2019. They dominated this game a year ago. They’re not being as aggressive on the scoreboard for the most part compared to last year, but they’ll still get a big win in this one.

Bolivar 28, South Side 20: The Hawks are playing better defense this year. While Bolivar is scoring, it’s not scoring as many points as it was last year. I want to pick South Side to win this, but they’ve yet to put together a full four-quarter game to give me the confidence to pick them in this one. I’m willing to take a loss here though.

Trinity Christian 42, Harding Academy 7: If you read The Post Route, I mentioned that TCA probably wants to get the bitter taste of last week’s loss out of their mouths for multiple reasons. The best way to do that is a nice, tall glass of a running-clock win to make them feel better. Also, it’s time for the offensive big three - QB Cooper Vailes, WR Brayden Waller and RB Lekhy Thompkins - to break out and have a big game and get in a rhythm leading into the playoffs. This game is the perfect opportunity for that.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news