SAINT LEON, Ind. — Football season kicked off in Southern Indiana Friday night as East Central and Lawrenceburg were among the first teams to play this season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Signs outside the stadium ask fans young and old to stay six feet apart – but that warning wasn’t always being put into practice in the stands.
“I hope it goes really well,” said Lawrenceburg parent Scott Roth.
Fans and school administrators shared in the excitement – the thought of winning week one on the minds of many in the stands.
“They look forward to it every year,” Roth said. “It’s a big part of their experience.”
Roth is at the game to watch his son Dakota, who’s a senior.
“I work in a factory of 400 people,” Roth said. “We haven’t missed a beat. As long as everyone is looking out for people and containing it.”
Winning on Friday night is about more than what’s on the scoreboard – it’s about what’s in the stands. If things go well for East Central and Lawrenceburg High School, they could be a model for the entire Tri-State to follow to bring football back safely.
“It’s nice to be able to have a little normalcy with all that’s going on for the past several months,” said East Central High School fan Matt Schweir.
Schweir and his sister are taking in the game from afar.
“Looking forward to them doing well this year,” he said.
Signs outside the stadium ask fans to stay six feet apart – but that warning wasn’t being put into practice among fans at the game.
East Central’s principal Tom Black said the school’s student section was spaced out with X’s marking proper social distancing between each seat.
The remainder of the stands had no rows blocked off, no attendance limits and masks were not required when out of the seat.
The Lawrenceburg student section saw people packed tightly together.
Black said the visiting side of the field is up to Lawrenceburg’s school administrator to monitor.
As the sun set on week one and the band played the teams off the field, whether or not the game was a victory remains to be seen.
