Weather, school closures alter Warren County’s high school sports schedule
Published 11:29 am Monday, January 15, 2024
The winter storm that put Mississippi under a layer of ice led a number of schools to postpone classes, and athletic events along with them.
The Vicksburg Warren School District closed schools on Tuesday, which led to the postponement of the Vicksburg vs. Warren Central basketball game in the evening. A girls-boys soccer doubleheader between Warren Central and Ridgeland was also postponed, as was a bowling match between Vicksburg and Warren Central.
VWSD athletics director James Lewis said coaches from all of the affected teams were working to reschedule the Region 2-6A games. Vicksburg and Warren Central’s basketball teams already play four other games in the next two weeks, while Warren Central’s soccer teams have three.
The WC-Ridgeland soccer games were rescheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m., at Warren Central.
Tickets that have been purchased in advance through GoFan.co will be honored whenever the games are finally played, Lewis said.
“We’re working with the coaches to let them find days that work. We want them to avoid having to play back-to-back days,” Lewis said.
Vicksburg High’s boys’ basketball team was scheduled to play Terry in the Rumble in the South event Monday night at Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum. That has been postponed to Saturday.
The Rumble in the South features 14 of Mississippi’s top boys’ basketball teams in seven games throughout the day. It will begin with Heritage Academy vs. Callaway at 10 a.m., and Vicksburg and Terry play the last game of the day at 8:30 p.m.
Among other postponements involving Warren County teams:
• St. Aloysius canceled a boys’ soccer game against Adams County Christian School and a basketball doubleheader against Greenville Christian, both scheduled for Monday. No make-up dates were announced. St. Al athletics director Bubba Nettles said the basketball game is unlikely to be made up.
The home basketball games vs. Cathedral that were postponed on Jan. 12 have been rescheduled for Jan. 25, and a scheduled road game at East Rankin Academy on Jan. 25 has been canceled.
Vicksburg Catholic School canceled classes for Tuesday because of the storm, which also meant the evening’s home junior high and varsity basketball games vs. Copiah Academy were postponed. No makeup date was announced.
• Porter’s Chapel Academy canceled a soccer game against Cathedral that was scheduled for Monday, and reconfigured its basketball schedule to deal with two postponements.
PCA’s home basketball games vs. River Oaks, scheduled for Tuesday, were postponed until Jan. 25.
Meanwhile, two basketball dates with Prairie View Academy were affected by weather. The home games originally scheduled for Jan. 12 were moved to Jan. 20, and will be at Prairie View instead of PCA. The junior high games will begin at 4 p.m. and varsity at 6.
PCA and Prairie View are also scheduled to play on Jan. 26. That game will now be played at PCA instead of in Bastrop, Louisiana.
PCA athletics director Blake Purvis said Thursday’s basketball games at Sharkey-Issaquena Academy in Rolling Fork are still on. Temperatures are forecast to remain below freezing until Wednesday afternoon, but will briefly warm to the mid-50s on Thursday.
“I think we’ll be OK by then,” Purvis said.