Iowa and Jennings are no longer district opponents, but that didn’t stop them from scheduling another meeting, and they will do it a day earlier than expected if the weather holds out.

The Yellow Jackets are in the process of getting new lights at Jesse E. Cady Memorial Stadium but they are not yet ready. That forced tonight’s game to move to Sam Houston High School’s Wayne Hooper Memorial Stadium in Moss Bluff.

“Supposedly a 747 might land here and it’s going to be so bright, according to what they’re telling me,” Iowa head coach Tommy Johns said of the new lights.

Johns said he’s not worried about the change but hopes it will be the only home game they have to move. Their next home game is scheduled for Week 4 when the Yellow Jackets host Wossman, who is coached by former Westlake and McNeese State standout Terence Cahee.

The Yellow Jackets played Thursday in their jamboree and preseason scrimmage.

“I think that kind of made the transition to Thursday this week a little less difficult,” Johns said. “You know what I mean, from a preparation standpoint? When you’ve got to move a home game there’s a lot of moving parts, so I’m hoping this is the only one we’ve got to do.”

Iowa vs. Jennings is not the only game that has changed. Kinder and Welsh and Westlake and Rosepine was moved, but for a different reason. The game was scheduled for today but the forecast calls for thunderstorms and heavy rainfall from a tropical system that has been meandering in the northwest part of the Gulf of Mexico for nearly a week. Welsh will host Kinder and Westlake will host Rosepine on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Johns said Wednesday afternoon the Iowa-Jennings game will go on today as planned, barring lightning. Sam Houston has an artificial turf field, making it ideal for wet weather.

Counting a scrimmage against Barbe, and a jamboree game against Sam Houston, Jennings will play up in class for a third week. They lost 36-27 to Sam Houston last week. Head coach Bret Fuselier said he expects Iowa’s offensive line to be a challenge.

“They are very physical up front on offense, so it’s going

to be a challenge for our defensive line,” Fuselier said. “That’s going to be one of the key factors in the game, what can our D-line do against their O-line and stop that run game that they have with the (Jonathan) Walker kid.”

Iowa rallied last week to beat former district rival Westlake 29-22 last week in a jamboree after falling behind 22-7. They have a few things to fix after giving up a 42-yard touchdown reception and 85-yard kickoff return to Westlake’s Kevin Rideau, a Nicholls State commitment. This week they will face a talented running back, ReJohn Zeno, and a sophomore quarterback, Chris Ned. The duo ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns last week against Sam Houston.

“I was proud of the way our kids didn’t panic at all,” Johns said. “We just kept playing, and I thought that was a great sign.

“I thought we did some really good things, but also some things that we obviously had to get corrected. Especially with special teams being live the very first time, we made some mistakes in that, which is kind of to be expected. We made some mistakes on offense, defense, special teams, the whole nine.”

Iowa efficiently spread the ball around to its playmakers on offense. Walker had 94 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. J’Vien Adams added 82 yards on 10 touches and wide receiver Jeremiah Bushnell caught three passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and ran for 38 yards and another score with first-year quarterback Reed Dupre running the offense.

“I thought we handled that well, and it was good to see some of these guys get out there, especially for their first time, see them compete well,” Johns said.

Jennings did well against the run last week, holding Sam Houston to 79 rushing yards but gave up four passing touchdowns, three longer than 20 yards.

“One of the things we’ve got to be is better tacklers, but we also have to be more physical, not just in the box but on the perimeter,” Fuselier said. “This week’s success is going to depend on not giving up the big plays, living to see the next play on defense, and making them drive the field and not hit the big one on us. They have plenty of weapons.”