COLLEGE STATION, Texas — 5A and 6A schools in Texas won't be starting its 2020 football season on the same day as the so called "smaller schools."
The UIL announced on Tuesday that it's allowing 1A-4A schools to begin the season as originally scheduled on August 3, but 5A and 6A schools can't begin practicing until September 7.
This is the first official announcement from Texas' organizing body on the 2020 season, and local coaches are just happy to finally have some clarity.
"That's the main thing, we all wanted direction," College Station head coach Steve Huff says. "Now we have a plan and direction, we can take a big sigh of relief. We have time on our side, so now we have to go make decisions that are best for us and our kids between now and that start time."
"I'll feel a lot better in two days when the dust settles and the schedule settles down because I know for sure we'll have 10 games," Rudder head coach Eric Ezar says.
Rudder was supposed to play 4A Calhoun this season, but that game will not happen anymore, according to Ezar. Coach also says he's looking into finding a replacement game for the Rangers Week 2 game against El Paso Americas, and his new, finalized schedule will be set later this week. College Station didn't have any 4A schools on its schedule, but coach Huff and his staff are also looking into potential backup plans for additional games if anything falls through.
Schedule changes are the only thing the smaller schools in Texas have to worry about at the moment. Certain school districts have previously postponed extra-curricular activities until in-person learning resumes, which is causing some schools to look for new early season opponents.
Other than that, 1A-4A schools can continue with summer workouts and get ready for its August 3 start date. More importantly, those coaches are ready to be the star of the show for the first few weeks of the season.
"I came from the big schools so I've seen the coverage they get but I grew up in the small schools so it's only the local guys," Snook head coach Boone Patterson says. "KAGS has been great to us but now maybe we'll get a Matt Stepp from DCTF, maybe we'll get an appearance from him at a game. It's exciting but it will showcase the small school Texas football that has the same pageantry and skill level as on the higher levels."
