LOCAL NEWS | Sports — Friday night lights will move to Thursday night this week.

On Wednesday, school officials announced that the Raiders district game against Richland would be moved to Thursday night to avoid impending bad weather. It’s one of two crucial district games left on the regular season schedule and it’s a must win if the Raiders want to continue to control their own destiny in their quest to reach the playoffs.

The game at Richland (4-4 overall , 0-3 district) follows a quality 22-12 home win over district foe and longtime rival the Huntland Hornets last Friday night. Tyler Smith again produced big yardage for the Raiders with QB Brayden Cashion and Kyler Parker also fighting for first downs. The Raider D, led by Zac Carawan and Donavin Pearson, played an impressive game and they’ll need that energy and tenacity tomorrow night.

This season, Richland’s coaches seem focused on the run led by #46 senior Montel Bobbitt and #16 junior Austin Seals. The Raider D played lights out against Huntland’s inside run game last week. If they can repeat that intensity and set the edge, their odds are good Thursday night.

Richland High School is located at 10610 Columbia Highway in Lynnville.

Kick off will be at 7 p.m. If you can’t make it to the game, there are a couple of ways to follow the action. Every game night, Whiskey Country radio transforms into Raider Country with play-by-play action from Joe Abraham and Al Clark as well as sideline reporting from Kelli Ray. Tune in locally on 95.9 or 105.1 FM. You can also watch a live broadcast on the NFHS Network. And, of course, The Lynchburg Times will post score updated on social media throughout the game.•

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}