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Pike County and Goshen High Schools will hold home openers over the next two weeks and although football will look different, both on the field and in the stands, principals believe fun can still be had by all.

The Pike County Bulldogs will get their first action of the season at home this Friday evening when they host Dadeville.

“Here at Pike County there is such a winning tradition,” principal Charles Corbitt said. “There is still a lot of excitement in the air, just to be able to play football. The football players are so anxious just to get out there and perform.”

The Eagles will play another road game this Friday night before hosting their home opener next week against Reeltown.

Pike County High School will allow a total of 600 people inside their stadium on Friday night. 300 tickets will be made available for both the home and away schools. No tickets will be available at the game. Tickets will only be sold on campus prior to the game.

“We started advertising that last week,” Corbitt said. “If parents are wanting to get tickets, they are going to have to purchase them in advance here at the school and during the school day.”

Visiting tickets will be sold at the visiting team’s school.

Once fans arrive to the game they will not be able to cross over to the opposite side.

“The tickets are limited and we are only selling 300 tickets per side,” Corbitt said. “Once you go in on one side you will not be able to cross over.”

Masks must be worn at all times during the games. Families are allowed to sit together, but must be separated from other individuals and families.

Everyone age 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Concession stands will be open at Pike County football games. Drinks will be sold along with prepackaged food items including chips and candy.

Goshen High School is still working to fine tune their guidelines, but principal Ken Britford, along with Pike County Schools is doing everything they can to ensure that fans and student athletes are able to enjoy Friday nights, while at the same time staying healthy.

“We are going to update everyone on social media and the school website in regards to how to pick up tickets and how we’re going to accommodate people safely,” Britford said. “We are going to try and make sure we get that information out to everyone so they know what the expectations are.”

Goshen will offer tickets to the football players, band members and cheerleaders first. The remaining tickets will be sold prior to games, but the exact number and how to pick up the tickets is still being decided.

Despite all the rules and guidelines, both principals urge their fans to be patient and they both believe fun can still be had.

“We are all in this together,” Corbitt said. “Safety should be our main priority. We should be able to put safety first while at the same time have fun.”

“We are a community school. The people of Goshen come out and support us,” Britford said. “We want to make sure it’s safe for all. We have any number from all age groups come out and we want it to be safe for everyone. We want everyone to come out and have a great time supporting the Eagles.”