As Mississippi’s residents adjust to life after Hurricane Katrina and begin to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, many long for the old routine of autumn.

That includes high school football, which could be on hold for a while longer. With gas at a premium and long lines at the pump, some coaches are wondering how they will get their teams and fans to games once they resume.

“I’ve had several phone calls from concerned parents about the gas situation,” said Porters Chapel football coach Randy Wright, whose teams is scheduled to play at Union Academy in Georgetown on Friday. “I’m hearing all kinds of things. We’re going to have to wait and see what happens.”

That’s the same attitude most coaches and athletic directors seem to be taking until the situation improves.

Vicksburg Warren athletic director Lum Wright Jr. said last week he was postponing all athletic events until at least late this week. Wright, along with local school officials, will evaluate the situation locally and statewide, and will try to reach a decision as to upcoming sporting events by Wednesday or Thursday.

St. Aloysius football coach and athletic director Jim Taylor is also taking a wait-and-see approach.

“We’re playing it like it’s raining and we don’t know when it’s going to quit raining,” Taylor said. “We have a softball game scheduled with Cathedral for Tuesday, and we told them we’d let them know Tuesday morning.”

St. Al’s football team, like the rest of Warren County’s high school football teams, is scheduled to play on the road on Friday. St. Al will play at St. Andrew’s in Madison, while Warren Central will travel to Grenada and Vicksburg will trek to Natchez.

Warren Central’s softball team is also slated to play games at Brandon, Forest Hill and Clinton, while Vicksburg is at Northwest Rankin and Clinton. St. Al is scheduled to play at Cathedral on Tuesday and then host South Leake on Thursday.

All of those games are up in the air until school administrators figure out how to get teams and fans to and from games – or even to and from school.