PINCKNEY — This week marked the end of an all-sports existence for county athletes.
Tuesday’s start of school meant that, for football players, no more sleeping in or staying up late.
“When kids sit around all day, it’s not good,” Pinckney coach Jakob Gailitis said. “They need to be engaged and be active. That’s part of the human body, especially teenage boys. People are saying, ‘Oh, they’ll be tired.’ No, they’re teenage boys. They have energy for days. I think it’s really good for them.”
Pinckney is one of three teams looking to stay unbeaten this week as the Pirates play host to Livonia Frankin on a game that will be broadcast on The Livingston Post starting at 6:30 p.m.
Howell takes on a Livonia Churchill team that lost on a late field goal last week, while Fowlerville travels to Portland to take on a powerful Red Raiders team that went 10-1 last year.
Meanwhile, Brighton plays host to Westland John Glenn in its home opener and Hartland is home against Canton in a matchup of 0-2 teams.
This week’s schedule is a reversal of last week. Fowlerville is the only team making a road trip this week, with the rest of the county at home. The Glads also are beginning their CAAC White Division schedule, while the KLAA West Division season begins next week.
It’s a departure from what had been the case, where KLAA teams had to find non conference opponents for the first and last game on their schedules. Finding a second nonconference game proved problematic, so league officials made weeks 2-3 crossover games against schools from the other conference.
This decision came before 10 schools, including Pinckney, voted to leave the KLAA after this school year, making this the only year the new schedule will be used.
