High School

Hurricane Helene threatens this week’s high school football schedule

Currently a tropical storm, Helene is project to hit Northwest Florida on Thursday as a Category 3 hurricane

Andy Villamarzo

Hurricane warning flags will be flying throughout the Southeastern U.S. as Hurricane Helene is expected to impact this weekend's high school football action.
Hurricane warning flags will be flying throughout the Southeastern U.S. as Hurricane Helene is expected to impact this weekend's high school football action. / Billy D. Photography

Since the high school football season runs simultaneously with the hurricane season in the Southeastern United States, you can almost bank on the fact that Mother Nature will have some sort of impact on the schedule at least once during any given season.

Thus far, the 2024 hurricane season has been relatively quiet despite the fact that many forecasters predicted a busy time. That appears set to change.

Tropical Storm Helene is gaining strength in the Caribbean Ocean and making its way north towards what weather experts believe will be a landfall somewhere in Florida's Panhandle/Big Bend region, as a major hurricane. Wind speeds of up to 115 miles per hour are expected to impact the Gulf Coast. In addition, heavy rains and power outages due to storm damage are expected.

After making landfall, the projected track of the storm has moving north along the Alabama-Georgia border. It then is expected to gradually move west as it tracks across Tennessee, Kentucky and into southern Illinois and Ohio.

School officials all across Florida are monitoring the issue at hand, with the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) sending out an email notice to member schools on Monday morning regarding the impending storm headed for the state.

Down below is the email from the FHSAA to member schools:

Think Ahead, Have A Plan, Be Prepared!

"GAINESVILLE, FL (9/23/24) - The Florida High School Athletic Association is currently monitoring the Gulf and has received the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. The NHC has given the area in the Caribbean Sea/Gulf of Mexico a high chance of developing into a tropical depression and eventually a Hurricane in the next few days, and the state of Florida should monitor this system. Therefore, in preparation for this week's sporting events, it is recommended that your staff begin the process of thinking ahead and preparing a plan for the rescheduling of events that could potentially be impacted by weather. While we understand that weather is often unpredictable, we would like to avoid as many future cancellations and/or postponements as possible. We will continue to monitor updates and provide additional support if the storm begins to strengthen and potentially impact our state. FHSAA asks that you use this time to communicate, plan accordingly, and be proactive about stunt preparation. If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Many counties bordering the Gulf Coast are continuing to have discussions and meetings to decide whether or not to postpone, cancel or reschedule games. One county in Florida has decided to be proactive, with Polk County schools already shuffling around its Week 6 slate of games.

Tuesday night features Lake Gibson traveling over to Bryant Stadium to take on the nationally-ranked Lakeland Dreadnaughts. The other games that have been rescheduled in Polk are listed below:

Tuesday, Sept. 24th

Cooper City at Hollywood Hills, 4:30 pm

Lake Gibson at Lakeland, 7 pm

Davenport at Lake Minneola, 7:30 pm

Wed., Sept. 25th

Ridge Community at George Jenkins, 7 pm

Winter Haven at Haines City, 7:30 pm

Thurs., Sept. 26th

Cedar Grove at Mt. Zion, 7 pm

Luella at Riverdale, 7 pm

Ten other Georgia games were already slated for Thursday.

Polk County football games moved up in anticipation of Tropical Depression Helene

Hernando County's athletic department announced that schools in the county will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, but county AD Dustin Kupcik has stated there will be no changes as of this time when it comes to games being played this Friday. The same goes for Pasco County as county athletic director Matt Wicks said that no changes to Friday's games has been made, but some junior varsity contests had been moved up to Wednesday night.

Hurricane Ian slammed into the western seaboard of Florida in October of 2022, forcing many schools along Southwest Florida, South Suncoast to lose multiple weeks of games due to heavy damage suffered from the storm. Though the storm's current trajectory is aiming for a Panhandle/Big Bend landfall, many weather experts are warning of a change in the track could occur at any point.

Helene will not only impact Florida, however, as it'll also have implications on high school football games across southern Alabama and Georgia as well. With wind gusts projected to being anywhere from 40 to 60 miles an hour well beyond making landfall, games could be subjected to being rescheduled beyond Florida as well.

Alabama already had a large slate of games scheduled for Thursday. In Georgia a handful of changes are now known.

Wed., Sept. 25th

Bainbridge at Cairo, 6 pm

Miller County at Terrell County, 6 pm

Planning ahead is what the FHSAA is imploring all member schools to do and if the past has taught anyone anything, it's to always have a plan in place for the unpredictable.

Editors Note: We will have more updates regarding any rescheduled/postponed/cancelled games throughout Alabama, Florida and Georgia as we receive them.

Follow SBLive Florida throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

Published
Andy Villamarzo

ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

Home/Florida