If ever a Week 1 was eagerly anticipated, it would be the 1 for 2020.

This year’s opening week will mark the culmination of months of waiting and anxiousness over whether football would be played this fall.

The SC High School League implemented numerous protocols to improve the prospects of a sports season.

Yet concerns over the covid-19 numbers remained high for players, coaches and fans of public high school football during the summer.

Now, as the SC Independent School Association heads into a 4th week of action, the public schools will engage in a final weekend of scrimmages before opening the regular season Sept. 25.

Weather-permitting, the Lake Murray Kickoff Classic takes place Friday at Cecil Woolbright Field on the campus of Chapin High School.

4 games are scheduled:

•Newberry vs. Barnwell 6 pm

•Spring Valley vs. Laurens 7 pm

•Gray Collegiate vs. Mid-Carolina 8 pm

•Chapin vs. Westwood 9 pm

Tickets are $7 and must be purchased at the participating schools before Friday.

For all the excitement, however, this year’s opening games bring a high level of urgency.

With an abbreviated schedule consisting of mostly regional contests and the post-season limited to just 2 region representatives, teams will have no room for a slow start.

For Lexington High football coach Perry Woolbright, those factors only add to the importance of the home opener against River Bluff.

“When you start off with your region and, especially starting off with a game like us with River Bluff, it’s a must win game,” he said. “You don’t have those non-region games to work out the kinks. You’ve got to be ready and we’re less than 2 weeks away from playing them.”

Batesburg-Leesville head coach Gary Adams expressed similar sentiments regarding the upcoming season.

“The thing we’re stressing is that you want to try and get as many opportunities to get a ‘W’ early in the region, put yourself in the best position,” he said. “We have a strong region once again this year with us, Gray Collegiate, Saluda, Newberry, Columbia and Eau Claire. It’s quite easy to end up 3rd in our region on a bad night. You might not even make the playoffs.”

The Panthers open play in their new region (3-2A) against Gray Collegiate and their former quarterback Tre Williams.

Gilbert High School will open the season on the road.

Making the game challenging for head coach Chad Leaphart is taking a team which lost 20-plus seniors from last year’s Region 5-3A champion to unfamiliar territory.

The Indians visit Orangeburg-Wilkinson for the 1st time Friday.

“It’s going to be tough,” Leaphart said. “We’ve got so many guys that have not played a lot of Friday Night football. They’re going to be thrown into it.

“Going on a road game, going into the Bruins’ Den and they’re just going to be thrown into the fire. We’re going to count on working hard and coaching them. They’ve been doing well practicing out here and we hope it pays off.”

SCISA football

Northside Christian Academy picked up its 1st victory in Week 3.

After a 1-week hiatus, it returned to action on the road and beat

Conway Christian 36-8.

Quarterback Max McKenna connected on 5 touchdown passes - 3 to Charlie Compton and 2 to Brayden Ross. The Crusaders return home for 2 games starting Friday against Jefferson Davis Academy.

Meanwhile, WW King suffered its 2nd straight loss as it ran into a buzzsaw in undefeated Richard Winn Academy.

The Eagles scored all of their points in the 1st half of a 41-0 victory. In 3 games, Richard Winn has now outscored its opponents 141-0.

Leading Knights’ rusher John Roy is out for the season with a collarbone injury suffered a week earlier against Patrick Henry.

The Knights were held without a 1st down in the 1st half and made just 2 the entire game. Up next is a road game at Wardlaw Academy.