On the heels of what meteorologists have dubbed Tropical Depression 8, which slide past the North Carolina coast mid-week, forecasters are saying Tropical Depression 9 will give the Carolinas a more direct hit — not only messing up the Labor Day Weekend, but Friday night football as well.
In advance of Mother Nature’s potential wrath, East Bladen and West Bladen high schools saw their varsity and jayvee football games get moves to what they hope will be drier conditions.
Coach Robby Priest’s Eagles, who had a home game against St. Pauls on Friday, rescheduled the non-conference game between the two 1-1 teams for Thursday evening. The junior varsity contest between the Eagles and Bulldogs was also moved — to Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. in St. Pauls.
Coach Todd Pait’s Knights, who were to travel for a non-conference rivalry game at Whiteville on Friday, saw the contest between 2-0 West Bladen and 0-2 Whiteville get changed to Thursday evening. The Knights’ junior varsity game was bumped to Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Dublin.
According to the National Weather Service, Tropical Storm 9 is expected to churn out of the Gulf of Mexico, grow into a tropical storm and move up the East Coast, arriving along the Carolinas on Friday and Saturday.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.