Last August, an unprecedented heat wave caused a last-minute change to the Red Carpet Bowl that caught people off-guard.

The traditional doubleheader was split in two, with Vicksburg High and Warren Central playing in their home stadiums instead of the same site and the start time was moved back until the sun had dipped.

It caused a lot of confusion and consternation. Conspiracy theories quickly arose about the motives for the move, not to mention practical logistical issues.

The Red Carpet Bowl committee is a well-oiled machine when it comes to staging the game, but adjusting on the fly to do it in two places at once stretched its manpower and resources. Everything from ticketing to security to the opening coin toss had to be rearranged in a matter of hours.

In the aftermath, the RCB committee has been forward-thinking for the 2024 games at Warren Central on Aug. 30. Vicksburg and Holmes County Central are scheduled to play the first game at 5:30 p.m., and Warren Central faces Clinton at 8.

At least, that’s the plan for now.

During its organizational meetings this summer, the RCB committee has tried to draw up a contingency plan if heat is once again a factor.

If the high temperature for Aug. 30 is forecast to be in or near triple digits, the Red Carpet Bowl doubleheader might become two single games for the second year in a row.

It would again cause some headaches for everyone. Fans would only get to see one game for their $10 ticket price, rather than two. The committee would need to do its best to double up on logistics instead of having everything clustered in one location.

During their meetings, though, the organizers have noted that it’s in the best interests of everyone. The same fans upset about getting less bang for their buck will certainly be more comfortable not having to sit on metal bleachers when it’s 96 degrees at 5:30 p.m.

Player safety is paramount and pushing the start of the Vicksburg-Holmes game back 90 minutes has obvious benefits.

Of course, as we saw in the last week of July and first week of August, summer weather in Mississippi can be fickle. We got a week of rainy weather with tolerable 90-degree highs immediately followed by two weeks of sunny days filled with oppressive 97-degree temperatures and 110-degree heat indices. It was 102 degrees on Wednesday, and will be 92 this weekend.

For that reason, the committee and Vicksburg Warren School District officials have not yet made a definitive decision on how to handle the Red Carpet Bowl. They likely won’t announce it until Aug. 25 or 26.
If the forecast heading into game week looks tolerable, then they’ll stick to the original plan. If it looks like it’ll be excessively hot, then we’ll get another split.

The final decision will rest with VWSD officials and the four head coaches at Vicksburg, Holmes County Central, Warren Central and Clinton. If they feel like the conditions are unsafe, then they’ll take the proper precautions.
It won’t be a decision that’s easily made, and it will be carefully considered.

What it shouldn’t be — and what the committee and VWSD officials don’t want it to be this time — is a surprise. This is something they’ve been thinking about for a good long while.

•

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