After a long, hot summer we’ve finally arrived at Week 1 of the high school football season.

Or is it Week 2? Or Week 4? Isn’t next week Week 1?

It’s getting hard to keep track because this year’s Mississippi high school football schedule is a jumbled, confusing mess. The first live action was on Aug. 4, when MAIS teams played controlled scrimmages. Then, on Aug. 11, there were 24 teams — including Porter’s Chapel Academy and Tallulah Academy — who played their regular-season openers while the rest played two-quarter preseason jamborees.

On Friday night, the entire MAIS played regular-season games while MHSAA teams played preseason scrimmages.
It’s not until Aug. 25 that we have a full statewide schedule of games that matter, and even then some teams will probably elect to play on Aug. 24.

Thankfully, there is one clear waypoint on the calendar that we can bank on every year — the Red Carpet Bowl.

Vicksburg’s long-running football game will celebrate its 61st anniversary on Friday, Aug. 25, when Warren Central plays Clinton and Vicksburg High takes on Holmes County Central.Both games will be played at 7 p.m., with WC-Clinton at Viking Stadium and Vicksburg-Holmes at Vicksburg’s Memorial Stadium. The change to the format was made Sunday because of concerns about excessive heat that is in the forecast all week.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate, and must be purchased online through GoFan.co. Tickets that have already been purchased can be used for either game, but cannot be used for both.

The Red Carpet Bowl has not been immune to floating around the schedule. It started as a postseason bowl game in 1962; was played as a first-round game after the MHSAA moved to a playoff system in the early 1980s; and eventually shifted again to a season-opening doubleheader (and occasional tripleheader) in the early 1990s.

It has weathered all of those storms to endure and become not only a Vicksburg tradition, but a Mississippi one as well. A total of 61 teams from Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas have played in the Red Carpet Bowl at some point.

Some of the schools on that list no longer exist. Others were decades away from existing when it was founded. The Red Carpet Bowl has always found a way to adapt and thrive, which is a credit to everyone involved.

The product you’ll see on the field next Friday is, perhaps, the easy part. Behind the scenes, months of planning and cooperation goes into pulling off a seamless night of football. From the Vicksburg Warren School District graciously giving up a lucrative home game for its two high schools, to the security folks and first responders keeping everyone safe, and the RCB committee members who attend to the four teams, it’s all a well-orchestrated ballet. Years of experience make it run like clockwork, but it’s always a massive undertaking.

It’s also a very worthwhile one. The game funds scholarships at all four Warren County high schools, usually about a half-dozen worth $750 each.

And, of course, none of its possible without the community’s support. The fans who buy tickets and cheer on their teams make it both possible to keep the game alive and worth it to the players and coaches by providing one of Mississippi’s best and most unique football experiences.

The Red Carpet Bowl is Vicksburg’s festival of football and fun, and it’s only days away. Let’s pack out Memorial Stadium on Friday night and make it a great one.

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com