The N.C. High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors approved extensions to the fall sports calendar in response to the impacts caused by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

There will now be 12 weeks of the football regular season instead of 11. The new playoff bracketing date is Sunday, Nov. 10. The previous final date of the regular season was Nov. 1 and the previous bracketing date was Nov. 2.

Schools could play games on Saturday, Nov. 9 (as long as they’re able to get the results in by midnight), but most will choose to play on Friday, Nov. 8.

Any school can add a game on Nov. 8, even ones that had a full 10-game slate. The Board approved a special provision that will allow teams to play 11 total games, but the 11th will be treated as an exhibition and NOT be officially entered into MaxPreps as a contest. Therefore, any school that chooses to play an 11th game will see no changes to its RPI rating. The NCHSAA must give approval to any 11th game a school wishes to schedule.

Most coaches of playoff teams will not want to risk injury to their starting varsity players a week before the postseason if the contest has no potential to improve seeding. It is possible for this 11th game opportunity to be used by two programs who want to get varsity backups and JV players more game experience. Conceivably, it could be an extra fundraiser for both programs if they split the gate.

The Nov. 8 date is mostly being used by schools who had to postpone a game due to the weather, but some schools who were already short a game have decided to use the extra week to schedule a 10th official contest.

Games Rescheduled to November 8

• 7:00 PM — East Surry @ West Wilkes
  • Foothills 2A Conference game
• 7:30 PM — Bunker Hill @ West Caldwell
  • Catawba Valley 2A Conference game
• 7:30 PM — East Rutherford @ CHASE
  • Mountain Foothills 1A/2A Conference Game
• 7:30 PM — Franklin @ Smoky Mountain
  • Mountain 7 3A Conference game
• 7:00 PM — Kings Mountain @ North Gaston
  • Big South 3A Conference game
• 7:30 PM — Polk County @ Hendersonville
  • Mountain Foothills 1A/2A Conference Game
• 7:30 PM — R-S Central @ Brevard
  • Mountain Foothills 1A/2A Conference Game
• 7:30 PM — Watauga @ South Caldwell
  • Northwest 3A/4A Conference game

Any schedule changes, including additions to this week 12 list, can be sent in to [email protected].

Newly-Scheduled Games on November 8

• 7:00 PM — Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy @ Bessemer City
  • Pending NCHSAA approval. This non-conference game will be the 11th contest for both teams and thus not count towards Bessemer City’s RPI. Bonnie Cone was is playing as an independent this season and is not eligible for the postseason anyways. They are planning to donate the money raised at the gate to a high school affected by Hurricane Helene.
• 7:00 PM — Enloe @ Vance County
  • Pending NCHSAA approval. Both teams needed a 10th game. This non-conference game will count to both teams’ RPI ratings.

Source: highschoolot.com