South Carolina extends football season, pushes playoffs back one week

Regions have been given flexibility to determine which games will be made up; An estimated 66 games were missed in Weeks 5 and 6

Jerome Shelton, Commissioner of the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL), announced that South Carolina's high school football regular season will be extended by one week to give schools an opportunity to make up games postponed by the impact of Hurricane Helene. In addition the state championship games have been move back one week to Dec. 12-14. / SCHSL

South Carolina’s 2024 high school football season will last a week longer thanks to Hurricane Helene.

The South Carolina High School League executive committee, in a widely expected decision, voted to extend the regular season by one week.

What that means is the regular season will conclude on Nov. 8 instead of Nov. 1. The playoffs will begin on Nov. 15. The state championships were originally planned for Dec. 5-7 at South Carolina State in Orangeburg. They will now be played Dec. 12-14. At this point, no venue change has been mentioned. SCHSL Commissioner Jerome Singleton told The State that staffing would not be an issue. It is possible that S.C. State’s football team could play in the Celebration Bowl, which is Dec. 14 in Atlanta.

Numerous schools in the Upper State portion of South Carolina have yet to resume classes and there have been multiple postponements. The extra week gives them flexibility to make up games, though there is still no guarantee all of them can be played.

The committee voted 9-4 in favor of the extension. A proposal to shorten the playoffs was voted down earlier in the day. 

It was left to the regions to decide which games to make up.

“Regions have to be creative as far as who makes the playoffs if one game is missed,” said committee member Coby Brandenburg during the meeting, according to The State newspaper. "But this gives an opportunity to make up one week of football.”

Some schools have only played four games because of the postponements and planned byes. In contrast, undefeated Northwestern is 7-0.

An estimated 66 games were missed during weeks 5 and 6 because of Hurricane Helene, SCHSL assistant commissioner Charlie Wentzky told the Greenville News.

As a result of the extension, the Touchstone Energy Bowl (also known as the North-South game) will now be played on Dec. 21 – the same day as the Shrine Bowl – instead of Dec. 14.

“We would like to commend Dr. Singleton and the High School League, staff, and Executive Committee for their diligent work in a compromise to ensure the best possible outcomes for student-athletes and coaches in the great state of South Carolina,” the Touchstone Energy Bowl said in a post on X.

The executive committee also decided to add another week to the volleyball season. There will be five rounds of playoffs for the girls and four rounds for the boys. 

The tennis regular season has been extended by one week, with the playoffs remaining the same.

As for cross country, the championship dates will remain the same.