The SCHSL executive committee voted 9-4 Tuesday during a virtual meeting to add one week to the football regular season and maintain five weeks for the state playoffs because of the disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene.

According to Charlie Wentzky, deputy commissioner of the SCHSL, an estimated 66 games were missed between weeks 5 and 6 of high school football in South Carolina.

"Hurricane Helene has created a lot of challenges for us," SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton said. "There was a lot of push to make an early decision, but we still haven't experienced all possible ramifications. We've also taken notice of a hurricane brewing again in the Florida area that could swing its way back to South Carolina. There may be a need to come back and make another decision, depending on the outcome of that."

The dilemma of adding a week for the regular season while maintaining five rounds of playoffs is the state championship dates will be changed, and that may result in a venue change.

Currently, the state championship will be played at Oliver Dawson Stadium at South Carolina State University.

The first motion brought to the floor regarding the remainder of the football season was to add one week to the regular season and cut the playoffs from five to four weeks to maintain the same dates for the state championship. The teams that do not make the playoffs could play an additional game during the first week of the playoffs if they choose.

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An 11-3 vote denied that motion, as several committee members felt it was imperative to maintain five weeks in the playoffs.

Kamryn Jackson covers high school sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KamxJack.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SCHSL executive committee adds an additional week to football season