Honky Tonk Foodie
Texans have a legendary love for football, especially their Friday night hometown versions. This day of the week is sacred for sport, community, and concessions. Decatur is no different. So when something else falls on the same day which is not pigskin-related, such as a time-honored holiday, then there is just one thing to do. Reschedule the holiday. Such was the case in 2014, when the town of Decatur, which is about 40 miles north of Fort Worth, pushed up all the festivities of Halloween.
Photo: envato elements
Instead of its usual date on the eve of All Saint’s Day, Halloween was declared to occur on October 30th that year. October 31st could only have one show, and that was the Friday night, high school football game. Texas wasn’t the only one, though, in the state of West Virginia, that same year saw more than 50 high school football games win the calendar over Halloween. Ohio also saw a date shift for costumed trick or treaters. When everyone is at the football game, there is no one to answer doorbell dings, masked ensembles, and candy requests. Similarly, those who supervise trick or treaters did not want to choose between the two activities.
Photo: envato elements
Thanks to Leap Year in February 2020, this won’t be an issue again until 2025. Many teams are proceeding cautiously with summer training in anticipation of the fall football season. The University Interscholastic League, more commonly known as UIL, is the governing body for Texas high school sports. In mid-March, the UIL suspended all scholastic athletics goings-on, however, as of June 8th, it’s now allowing campus returns for student-athletes to begin strength, conditioning, and specific skill training, under required guidelines. Per texasfootball.com, these are the top ten preseason rankings for 2A Division I high school teams: Shiner, Refugio, Post, Cisco, San Augustine, Mason, Hawley, Ganado, Panhandle, and San Saba.
