BATON ROUGE- High school football is back in Louisiana and it's almost time for Jamboree Weekend.

Ahead of Uhigh's 'Red Stick' rumble against Catholic High, WBRZ's Dana DiPiazza spoke with Uhigh's Director, Mr. Kevin George on Friday morning.

George, who is geared up for his first season with Uhigh, said, "We're super excited today. We're excited to get back to football and ready to take on the Catholic Bears tonight."

Uhigh is scheduled to take on catholic Friday night following the first-ever red stick rumble game at 5:30 p.m., where Parkview Baptist will take on Saint Michael.

George went on to say, "We're super excited about it... this is my first taste of this rivalry. This is a great event. The athletic director, the coaches got together on a great event tonight."

A former football player himself, George says he can related to what the players are feeling, "I know what it means, I know how it feels to wake up on Friday mornings, you know, wearing your jersey to school, and just feeling excited about playing tonight. So, I know how they feel. So, I know they're excited about locking heads tonight."

George told DiPiazza that even with some virus restrictions in place, the Friday night game will "be like more of a normal experience," and mentioned that the vaccine has a lot to do with this.

"The vaccine has been a game-changer," George said. "A lot of people can do more things safely. So, we're looking for a big, packed crowd tonight, being socially distanced, encouraging people to wear their masks. But we know we're going to have more people in the stands tonight."

George also had words for Uhigh's rival team, saying, "Good luck, that's all I can really say because we know we're going to bring it tonight."

This year, things will look a little different for players and football fans.

COVID-related issues earlier in the week triggered several changes in the jamboree scheduling for high schools across Baton Rouge.

A 14-year-old freshman football player at Baker passed away after contracting COVID-19.

This tragedy, coupled with health concerns surrounding the COVID case on the team, kept players off the field for a time.

In addition to this, East Ascension and Central were sidelined as EA was scheduled to play its rival Dutchtown last night. This left the Griffins without a jamboree opponent.

Aside from these scheduling issues, teams have also been coping with ongoing health concerns.

Amid these challenges, local football players, cheerleaders, and band members continue to give their best effort to fans and supporters.

Click here for details on how the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) is adapting to an unprecedented football season.