DENHAM SPRINGS – Sometimes silence can speak volumes.

It’s not difficult to gauge where Livingston Parish’s football coaches and their players stand when it comes to the current status of the game in the state.

Those waiting for the start of the high school football season got a bit of a surprise from the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Executive Committee on Wednesday.

HAMMOND – The significance of Saturday’s St. Thomas Aquinas-BSN Invitational wasn’t lost on Albany cross country coach John Legoria.

The waiting game is over for the start of high school football in Louisiana, and for coaches in Livingston Parish, the news was kind of like getting a victory before the season even gets started.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry wrote a letter to Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine urging to 'turn on the Friday Night Lights' during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

There’s optimism and frustration as a pair of Livingston Parish football coaches expressed their thoughts on Gov. John Bel Edwards’ announcement the state will remain in Phase 2 of reopening during the novel coronavirus pandemic Wednesday.

ALBANY – The Albany football team got a little bit of a break with Friday’s practice, but that doesn’t mean the Hornets didn’t get some work in.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association released its regulations for football, volleyball, cross country and swimming in regard to COVID-19 Friday.

It appears high school football teams now have a target date for the start of the season. But the state has to get there first.

High school football teams in Livingston Parish will be able to take some baby steps toward a potential season Monday.

The first slight ray of hope for a possible ‘normal’ football season arrived Monday evening.

The Livingston Parish Public School System unveiled its “100 Percent Virtual” learning option for the coming school year Thursday morning, but students who choose the option won’t be able to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, bands and school clubs.

Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine released a letter Wednesday afternoon reiterating the organization’s stance that it is committed to playing fall sports, as long as it can be done safely in the face of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Officials on the state and parish levels had different reactions as it pertains to athletics after Gov. John Bel Edwards’ announcement the state will remain in Phase 2 of reopening Tuesday in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine elaborated on Monday’s presentation to the House Education Committee in an interview with The News that closely mirrored his testimony during a special meeting of the state’s Board of Secondary and Elementary Educatio…

For coaches in Livingston Parish, Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine’s statement that high school football won’t be played until reaching the LHSAA’s Phase 4 wasn’t a surprise.

For coaches in Livingston Parish, Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine’s statement that high school football won’t be played until the LHSAA's Phase 4 wasn’t a surprise.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association released a statement Wednesday afternoon stating the organization is “fully committed” to having sports in the fall.

ALBANY – Albany football coach Mike Janis realizes the different time we live in thanks to the novel coronavirus, but he also realizes his team has been ready to get back to playing the game for a while.

Not that the Livingston Parish School System wasn’t working hard to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Gov. John Bel Edwards’ decision to keep the state in Phase II of the reopening process may have given LPPS athletic director Steve Parrill a different perspective on things.

ALBANY – There are plenty of guidelines coaches are following as their teams return back to campus after novel coronavirus cut the school year short.

It’s taken some time to get to this point, but it’s official.

With Gov. John Bel Edwards’ announcement Monday that the state will be moving into Phase II of reopening on Friday, the plan is for extracurricular activities to resume on Livingston Parish school campuses on June 8.

The Louisiana High School Coaches Association won’t be holding its annual clinic in the traditional sense this year but will instead host a virtual version of the event amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s decision to push back the start of the organization’s summer rules until June 8 as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, was met with different reactions from a trio of Livingston Parish athletic directors.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is playing it safe when it comes to the re-opening of athletics during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The state may be moving into Phase One of reopening Friday, but the Livingston Parish Public School System is proceeding cautiously before bringing athletics back fully into the fold in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Editor's note: The following is an opinion/editoral to the state's Class of 2020 athletes from National Federation of State High School Associations Executive Director Dr. Karissa Niehoff released to the media by Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine.