Lamar’s season opener has been delayed a week.

The Raiders were scheduled to host Presbyterian Christian School Friday to begin their 2021 campaign, but athletic director Matt Boone said in a press release Wednesday the game has been moved to Sept. 17. That was the original date the Lamar-PCS game was scheduled to take place before the schools decided to move it to Friday to begin the season a week earlier.

The press release cited the rising cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi as the reason for moving the game back to its original date. The Raiders are now scheduled to begin their season Aug. 20 at home against Heritage Academy.

“After much discussion with Presbyterian Christian School concerning the Delta variant in our state, we believe it is in the best interest of both schools to postpone the football game vs. Presbyterian Christian back to its original date on September 17,” the press release said.

While delaying the start of the season is a little frustrating, Boone said, he feels it’s the right move.

“Both schools were in agreement the more we talked, and with us having the open date on the original schedule, it made too much sense,” Boone said. “It buys both schools an extra week to monitor things. I know the kids and coaches are all ready to play, but I think it’s the right decision.”

As for potential future scheduling issues due to COVID-19, Boone said it’s not something anyone can predict right now.

“You just have to take it a day at a time,” Boone said. “Things change daily, especially with the new variant going around, so we’re just trying to be proactive and make sure we’re good to go.”