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Three high school teams in Dallas County are scheduled to open their seasons this week despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dallas County, Meadowview Christian School and Southside will get their seasons underway, starting Thursday.

The Panthers travel to Holtville on Thursday night. MCS hosts Evangel-Alabaster, while Dallas County visits Helena.

Southside and Keith both had to deal with their original opponents canceling.

The Panthers planned to visit Francis Marion until the Perry County School System canceled fall sports. Wilcox County School officials canceled Wilcox Central’s contest at Keith.

Dallas County head coach and Athletic Director Heath LeVert said the Hornets are ready to start their season.

“We are excited for the opportunity to play someone not wearing green,” LeVert said. “The kids have worked hard this summer and are hungry.”

“We are playing this game to work on ourselves,” Panthers coach Charles Moody said. “We want our new guys to learn how we do things and reintroduce things to our returnees.

“We just want to play our best, see how certain things look, and get a read on all of our players.”

MCS coach Bob Taylor said that he expects the Trojans’ football schedule to change because of the coronavirus.

Levert, the Hornets’ second-year coach, said he expects a challenge from Helena, who went 9-2 last season. Dallas County went from winless to 4-7 and earning a Class 4A state playoff berth in 2019.

“Helena is going to be a tough opponent. They are coached well and will have an advantage in the numbers department but we are going to do our best to out work them on every snap,” LeVert said. “Hopefully we will be able to build on the success of last season.”

Morgan Academy, Selma High are all scheduled to open their seasons on Aug. 28. Ellwood Christian Academy has cancelled fall sports.