Football and soccer state playoffs will be delayed for up to a week for North Carolina High School Athletic Association teams among a list of postseason adjustments announced Wednesday in the wake of Hurricane Helene causing upheaval for teams in the western part of the state.
There are also notable changes for girls’ tennis and volleyball. There are no schedule changes in girls’ golf or cheerleading and mostly procedural adjustments for cross country.
The delays allow time for teams in the western part of the state to make up some competitions.
With approval, teams in several sports can add an additional game or competition to compensate for the down time. For instance, football teams can add an 11th game in the regular season, though it won’t count toward playoff seeding.
Here’s a closer look at some sports:
** Football: The playoffs have been pushed back one week.
Brackets will be unveiled eight days later than initially planned, with those coming out Nov. 10. That puts first-round games November 15. State finals are now set for Dec. 20-21.
** Boys’ soccer: The bracketing has been pushed back a week, with seeds coming out Nov. 7 and the first round beginning two days later.
The second week of the state playoffs has been adjusted to consist of the second, third and fourth rounds across a five-day period. The finals are November 22-23 as originally scheduled.
** Girls’ tennis: The individual competitions remain on the same playing schedule, with the state tournaments Oct. 25-26.
The dual team state playoffs have been pushed back. That means the finals have shifted to Nov. 9.
** Volleyball: The regular season has been slightly extended, with the brackets coming out Oct. 20 (instead of Oct. 16). The state finals still wrap up Nov. 2.
Changes for high school sports have come in other parts of the Southeast because of Hurricane Helene. Georgia and South Carolina pushed back football state playoffs by one week.
North Carolina has made postseason schedule alterations because of past hurricanes, most recently in 2018.
