MIAMI VALLEY — Keeping student athletes safe in the heat is a top priority for high schools across the area.
>>RELATED: Athletic trainer details risks of playing outdoor sports during extreme heat
Our Storm Center 7 team of meteorologists says it will be hot and humid today with high temperatures in the low 90s and heat indices will be near 100 degrees.
News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson says some high schools have changed the start times for Week 2 of high school football due to heat and humidity.
Carroll High School’s home football game against Tecumseh Friday night got pushed back an hour from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Beavercreek High School was scheduled to play Ponitz at Welcome Stadium in Dayton on Thursday night, but the game got moved to Saturday.
Eaton High School’s home game against Richmond was also moved from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday night.
>>RELATED: Heat index concerns force postponement of Beavercreek, Ponitz football game
Scott Molfenter, Carroll’s High School’s Athletic Director, told News Center 7 on Thursday that the field turf is on average 10 degrees hotter, and it played a factor in their decision to move the game an hour.
“These guys are out here warming up early when that sun is getting really hot and we’re trying to get the field ready and other things going on. It’s warm, so backing it up an hour is a good call, good choice,” he said. “If we need to take extra water breaks, we’ll do that. I think football in a lot of ways lends itself to that, I know with some of our other sports like soccer we’ve been stopping midway through halves.”
Molfenter told News Center 7′s Malik Patterson that once Tecumseh and officials get to the field on campus, they will remind them of their safety protocols.
To get an update on area high school football, visit our Touchdown 7 page.