Are you ready for some football?

Warren County’s fans and teams had better be. There’s plenty of it on tap this week.

On the radio

Tonight, 7 p.m. 1490 AM

Vicksburg at Greenville

Because of postponements and scheduling quirks, the county’s high school teams will play on three different nights this week. The action kicks off tonight when Vicksburg High heads north to face Greenville-Weston in a game postponed from Friday.

That will be followed by a Thursday night clash in Natchez between St. Aloysius and Cathedral, then the regular Friday slate — which includes a return appearance by Vicksburg. The Gators, just three days removed from the game against Greenville, will play host to Class 6A’s top-ranked team Madison Central.

Warren Central hosts Murrah on Friday, while Porters Chapel heads to Rayville, La., to take on Riverfield Academy.

The unusual arrangement for the Gators came about when heavy thunderstorms pounded the Delta early Friday afternoon. With the threat of more rain in the forecast, a Saturday game was also ruled out. That left Monday night as the only option.

The Gators gathered at their fieldhouse on Sunday to watch film, but didn’t go on the field to practice. The real test will come after tonight’s game, when they have to turn around and get ready for a high-powered Madison Central squad that’s coming off a 49-0 rout of Warren Central.

In a normal week, teams watch film and have minimal contact on Mondays. Tuesday and Wednesday are the main practice days and Thursday usually consists of a light walkthrough. Because of the extremely short week, Vicksburg will essentially have only full day of practice before the Jaguars come to town.

“It’s going to put us on an extremely short week. We’re going to have to make all kinds of adjustments to our practice routine,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said.

Although not as odd a situation as Vicksburg’s, the St. Aloysius Flashes will also have a short week of preparation before they face archrival Cathedral. That game was scheduled for a Thursday night because of Natchez’s annual hot air balloon festival, which is expected to draw large crowds away from Friday night football.

The Flashes adjusted by starting their week early. They got together for a light Sunday afternoon practice, and basically moved the entire week’s schedule up a day. St. Al is coming into the game off a 34-0 rout of Salem, but coach B.J. Smithhart said that wasn’t needed to lift his players’ spirits this week.

“There couldn’t be a better time for the short week. We’ve got kids that come out for football just to play Cathedral,” Smithhart said. “The kids will be ready to play Cathedral right now.”

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Vicksburg Post sports writer Jeff Byrd contributed to this story.

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com

Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com