With Hurricane Francine moving further to the east, McNeese State went back to practice Wednesday morning in preparation for its Southland Conference opener Saturday night.

Earlier in the week the Cowboys had called off their Wednesday workout as forecasts had the storm hitting closer to Lake Charles. On Monday head coach Gary Goff said his team would be ready for anything changes.

“We are going to watch the weather and make adjustments as necessary,” Goff said.

Tuesday after practice he sent the players home to shelter and work on the game through films. But as the forecast changed the Cowboys adjusted.

The rest of the week is set up to be as scheduled with McNeese practicing Thursday morning and then finishing up with a likely light workout Friday. 

Also, according to Athletic Director Heath Schroyer, the rest of the weekend’s activities will go on as planned. That starts with Friday night’s block party headlined by the band Bag of Donuts.

There are also no expected changes to Saturday’s tailgating before the 7 p.m. kickoff against Stephen F. Austin inside Cowboy Stadium. 

The 1-2 Cowboys take on the 1-1 in the Lumberjacks in their return to the SLC after a three-year absence.

The meeting will be the first between the two teams since 2019. 

CANCELLED: The McNeese volleyball match against Alcorn State set for Thursday night has been called off. Alcorn was set to be a part of the Cowgirl Classic scheduled for this weekend. 

The Cowgirls will play Incarnate Word at 6:30 p.m. Friday night. The Classic will open Friday at 1 p.m. with UIW taking on Florida A@M. McNeese will now battle FAMU at noon on Saturday.

McNeese also had its match at Louisiana-Lafayette called off as both areas prepared for the storm.

SOCCER: McNeese’s home soccer match set for Friday night at 7 p.m. against Louisiana College is still expected to be played as scheduled. 

The Cowgirls will be looking for their second straight victory after their 3-0 win Texas Southern a week earlier. 

McNeese officials did say they will continue to monitor weather developments and adjust schedules as needed.