Friday night lights returns to Doug Price Field tonight but there will be lots of changes this year at Raider home games to attempt to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 in the community.

The Raiders kick off their first season under new head coach Kris White against the Cascade Champions at 7 p.m. White is Moore County’s new, former coach. White launched his coaching career at Riverdale High School before heading to Moore County as an assistant. He left the Raiders in 2009 to take an assistant position with Oakland High School and then Knoxville Catholic High School. Moore County will be his first head coaching position.

Who the 2020 Raiders will be is still anybody’s guess. Coach White has a solid track record and he brought a couple of athletes with him to Moore County – namely his two sons: senior Kaden, age 18, and freshman Dawson, age 15. Both will wear jerseys for the Columbia blue and white this season.

Without the benefit of pre-season scrimmages both teams will likely come out needing to work out the kinks. If previous years are any indicator, Cascade will play conservative, grind-it-out football. In the end, the team that makes the fewest mistakes and controls the clock will likely earn the W.

TSSAA requirements for attendance

Moore County Athletic Director Josh Deal reminds Raider fans that the TSSAA will require all those attending to wear a mask and have their temperature checked prior to entering Raider Stadium. Once inside, officials ask that fans leave two empty seats between you and anyone not in your immediate family.

For those not comfortable attending in person, Joe Abraham and Jonah Deal will call the game on both 95.9 and 105.1 FM. The two local radio stations transform from Whiskey Country to Raider Country every Friday night during football season. Locals can also watch the Moore County Sports Network student broadcasting team on the NFS Network. The Lynchburg Times Facebook page will also post live score updates throughout the game.

Kick off happens at 7 p.m. on Friday and pre-game activities will begin around 6:45 p.m. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg. We cover 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.}