"It doesn't matter who our opponent is this week. We're getting ready. We're going to do our thing," River Bluff quarterback Jackson Stone on Friday's season”

opener against top

Josiah Schrodt is ready for some football.
The Lexington High School senior linebacker has waited 11 months to return to the gridiron. This Friday night, he and the Wildcats will finally get their opportunity to hit the field when they play host to Ridge View.
"I'm ready," Schrodt said. "It's been, however long it is, a year, whatever. But, we were suppose to start our season back in August. Several months in, I'm just super-anxious to get out there because the schools around us in South Carolina have already played a game or 2, 2-3 games. I'm just ready for whenever it may be." 
In years past, the early part of October meant getting into the meat of the schedule for high school football teams.
For Lexington High School, this time marks the starting point of its 2020 regular season. After covid-19 cases with scheduled opponents resulted in postponements and cancellations, the Wildcats will open play against the Blazers. 
"Like everything nowadays, there's nothing that's normal," Lexington head coach Perry Woolbright. "From the way you come to school, to the way you go into a store, to the way you go to work, it's no different for football."
Since school closed last March, Woolbright has stressed a positive approach towards dealing with the hardships and difficulties in the "new normal". 
Rather than the players stressing the uncertainties of whether they will even play a game this season, Woolbright focuses on how his team can turn the period of inactivity into their favor.
"We look at it like we're fresh, we're not beat up," he said. "Normally, 5-6 in, you've got some knicks and knacks. We don't have any right now. So we should be ready, just like for that 1st ballgame, ready to come out swinging."
Woolbright sees the benefits of opening against a non-region opponent. The next 4 games after this Friday will determine whether Lexington can earn 1 of 2 post-season berths. 
"It's always good to have a non-region," Woolbright said. "Usually, you set your normal schedule up like that anyway because at the end of the day, non-region games, win or lose, aren't going to cost you whether you go to the playoffs or not. Those region games do.
"So, having those non-region games is good for us, especially with the talent we're missing. We're able to kind of go out and whatever kinks we do have, once we get into a game-type situation, we get those worked out because we then go on a 4-game stretch that we've got to win those games because only the top 2 teams are going to the playoffs." 
"Every game counts and every game is going to count towards our playoffs, so I think it makes it that much more important to go and play every game our hardest," Schrodt said. 
That sense of urgency also combines with anticipation for a Lexington roster with several newcomers making their varsity football debuts, according to Woolbright.
"We've got a lot of unknowns on our side, but our kids are ready to go and will be excited Friday night," he said.
Lexington is not the only Lexington School District 1 making its 2020 debut. River Bluff High School also opens the regular season at home against top-ranked and 4-time defending Class 5A champion Dutch Fork.
"Just happy to be around our kids and being able to have a chance to play," River Bluff head coach C. Blair Hardin said. "It's the 1st time playing our 1st game in October, but we get to play. So, we've had a good Monday (of practice), kids feel like they're prepared and are ready to play." 

"We're playing football," River Bluff quarterback Jackson Stone said. "It doesn't matter who our opponent is this week. We're getting ready. We're going to do our thing." 
The contest is the WACH 57 Sonic Friday Night Rivals Game of the Week. It will air on Channel 1250 on Spectrum and streammed at www.wach.com .
Meanwhile, both Pelion and Swansea will be out of action. After reporting covid-19 exposure, the Panthers will sit out its second straight Friday and return to action Oct. 16 at Barnwell.
They have rescheduled the 2 games missed against Silver Bluff (Oct. 30) and Wade Hampton (Nov. 5). In the process, Pelion has cancelled the non-region game against Gilbert. 
Swansea has also postponed its next 2 region games against Fox Creek this Friday and Brookland-Cayce on Oct. 16. Only the contest against the Predators has been rescheduled for Nov. 6. 
In other schedule changes, Airport has moved its home game against Aiken to Monday. 

SC HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL/CHRONICLE COUNTRY SCHEDULE 
Friday’s Games 
(Start time is 7:30 pm) 
Brookland-Cayce at Gilbert
White Knoll at Chapin 
Dutch Fork at River Bluff 
Gray Collegiate at Saluda 
Irmo vs. AC Flora (at Memorial Stadium in Columbia) 
Ridge View at Lexington 
Richard Winn at Northside Christian 
Palmetto Christian at WW King 

Monday’s Game
Aiken at Airport