Almost two weeks removed from the devastation that was Hurricane Helene, there are signs — even in the Augusta-area sports world — of a gradual return to normalcy.
Richmond County School System announced Thursday evening that, though school would be out of session until Wednesday, Oct. 16, athletic events will resume this week, but with some limitations.
“Due to ongoing curfew restrictions and some road hazards caused by street light outages, athletic events in our school system will start early and limit the number of spectators for the safety of our students, staff and attendees,” a RCSS Thursday press release stated.
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Laney (3-2) at Butler (3-2) and Westside (5-0) at Cross Creek (1-4) football games will both take place Friday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.
According to RCSS, home games will “only be open to student participants, staff and four immediate family members.” Students will receive tickets from their schools for the home events, and GoFan online ticket sales will not be available for home athletic events this week.
Four other Richmond County football teams will play this week as well, but will be on the road and subject to those schools’ guidelines for ticket purchasing. Here are those games and starting times.
Josey (0-5) at Burke County (5-1) Friday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m.
Hephzibah (1-5) at Baldwin (1-3), 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m.
Richmond Academy (1-4) at West Laurens (4-1), 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Glenn Hills (0-6) at Thomson (3-3), Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.
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RCSS Athletic Director Scott McClintock said the district was able to green-light all athletes back to practice Monday, which, he said, was music to the ears of coaches and athletes alike.
“I think our kids and our coaches wanted to get back since last Monday, and unfortunately barriers couldn’t allow practice,” McClintock said. “But we felt like, at this point, kids can get back to the normalcy of practice in a safe way. Their safety is what we’ve been trying to properly manage the entire time.”
Columbia County football returns
Columbia County Schools will be back in session for students on Wednesday, Oct. 9 and Thursday, Oct. 10, but will be out on Friday, Oct. 11. The following Columbia County Schools football teams will be back in action this week. Here are the games and times.
Effingham County at Evans, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.
Greenbrier at Lakeside, Thursday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Aquinas at Harlem, Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Grovetown will play its next game on Monday, Oct. 14 at home against Archer at 7 p.m. which puts the Warriors in a situation where they will play two games in the same week — the second game coming on Friday Oct. 18 at home against Rockdale at 7:30 p.m.
Here are other games that are happening in the coming days:
Augusta-Area Private Schools
Augusta Christian (1-4) at Hammond (6-0) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Thomas Jefferson Academy (0-6) at Edmund Burke Academy (5-1), Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Westminster Christian Academy (7-0) at Westminster Schools of Augusta (4-0), Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.
Georgia CSRA
Washington-Wilkes (3-3) at Lincoln County (5-0), Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Lake Oconee Academy (5-1) at Warren County (4-2) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina CSRA
Aiken (0-4) at Brookland-Cayce (1-4) Thursday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Fox Creek (5-1) at Newberry (2-3) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Midland Valley (1-4) at Gilbert (1-4) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Airport (1-3) at South Aiken (3-3) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
American Leadership Academy (0-4) at Thurmond (3-1) Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
