Week one of the 2023 local high school football season will be delayed by a night due to extreme heat this week that is anticipated to only get worse come Friday.

A brutal heat wave began Sunday across the region, with air temperatures reaching 100 degrees on top of high humidity. 

The National Weather Service in St. Louis has issued an excessive heat warning in effect until 10 p.m. Friday, as heat index values are expected to be between 105 and 115 degrees – and possibly reaching 120 degrees.

With that in mind, athletic directors across the area have scrambled to reschedule the opening week of football season. 

Waterloo and Columbia were scheduled to have home openers this Friday night, but both contests have been pushed to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Bulldogs, coming off a 7-4 campaign last season in which they won their first playoff game since 1994, will host Mt. Vernon on Saturday.

Among the key returning players for the Bulldogs in 2023 is senior Koby Osterhage. He amassed 1,070 total yards on offense with 14 touchdowns and also recorded nine sacks on defense with three sacks. 

The Eagles finished 6-4 last year and will host perennial football power Mater Dei this Saturday night.

The starting quarterback for Columbia this season is junior Mason Voegele, the younger brother of 2022 all-state QB Dominic Voegele.  

The longtime Monroe County football rivals will then do battle the following Friday, Sept. 1, at WHS.

As for the Dupo High School football squad, the Tigers were already scheduled to open their season this Saturday at Riverdale High School in Port Byron, which is up north in Rock Island County. 

The Tigers made the playoffs last season for the first time in 10 years and finished with a record of 5-5. 

The IHSA classification enrollment for Dupo is 258, which is among the lowest in the state.

Week two sees Dupo hosting Confluence Prep Academy of St. Louis on Sept. 2 at 11 a.m.

Deegan Prater, a sophomore, will serve as quarterback for the Tigers.

The IHSA is requiring school districts across the state to use a new device known as a wet bulb to determine what “too hot” is for all outdoor athletic activities.

The wet bulb thermometer takes in wind speed, the sun, humidity and air temperature to accurately reflect the weather conditions. 

Coaches have to run this combined wind-sun-temperature-humidity test every 30 minutes during any outdoor activity. 

If the overall result as detected by the wet bulb is higher than 89.9 degrees, that outdoor activity is off the table.