It’s the calm before the storm for high school football fans this weekend. In years’ past, the upcoming Friday was labelled as Week 0 for those teams who wanted an early jump on the season. With both the S.C. High School League and SCISA pushing forward the start of their respective seasons a week, fans will have to settle on a final week of preseason football. Kicking off things is the 3rd annual Lexington Sportsarama. This year’s clash of 7 county teams will take place Friday at Gilbert High School and admission is $7 for the 4 games:

•Batesburg-Leesville vs. Edisto 6 pm

•River Bluff vs. Swansea 6:45 pm

•Lexington vs. Pelion 7:45 pm

•Gilbert vs. White Knoll 8:30 pm

The following night, the 3rd annual Aun and McKay Kickoff Classic will take place Saturday at Cecil Woolbright Field on the campus of Chapin High School. The event is $6 and after each contest, individual awards will be issued:

•Newberry vs. Barnwell 6 pm

•Spring Valley vs. Laurens 7 pm

•Mid-Carolina vs. Gray Collegiate 8 pm

•Chapin vs. Westwood 9 pm

Cover contest ends Thursday

Thursday marks the final day to vote on which player will appear on the Lexington Chronicle’s 2019 High School Football Preview Edition cover. A poll has appeared on the www.lexingtonchronicle.com website with 6 candidates selected from the 15 Chronicle Country high schools. The poll results are hidden and the winner will be announced in the Aug. 22 edition of the Lexington Chronicle. The finalists are:

QB Ty Olenchuk (Dutch Fork)

The rising senior and Clemson University baseball commit was last year’s Lexington Chronicle’s Player of the Year in football and this past school year’s Male Athlete of the Year. He guided the Silver Foxes to a 3rd straight Class 5A title and a 2nd undefeated season in three years after throwing for 3,804 yards and scoring 50 TDs, passing and rushing.

QB/DB Ke’Shoun Williams (Batesburg-Leesville)

A 4-year starter for the Panthers, Williams has played a prominent role on both sides of the football. Last season, he threw for 756 yards and rushed for 427 yards and 12 TDs.

RB Nanders Lawrence (Airport)

The versatile senior Eagle was a catalyst in the team’s turnaround after a slow start into a region champion. He rushed for 745 yards and 6 touchdowns, caught 45 passers for 721 yards and 5 TDs and had 60 tackles on defense.

DB/P Tristan Allen (Lexington)

The Wildcats’ 3-sport athlete leads the team on defense and special teams. He had 50 tackles and 6 INTs and averaged 37.5 yards per kick as a punter last season.

RB Braden Walker (River Bluff)

The successful transition from quarterback to running back helped make possible the Gators’ most successful season in school history. Despite missing the final 3 games due to injury, the rising senior rushed for 1,487 yards and 16 touchdowns for the 9-2 Gators.

QB Aveon Smith (White Knoll)

The rising senior and University of Miami (OH) commit is one of Chronicle Country’s top dual threats. He threw for 1,051 yards and 14 TDs and rushed for 1,343 yards and 13 TDs for the Timberwolves in 2018.