Shelby County’s high school

teams were finally able to return to the practice field Monday, five days after officials across the state announced school closings and the cancellation of last Friday’s football games.

The threat of severe weather from Hurricane Ivan prompted statewide cancellations from both governing bodies operating in Alabama high school athletics.

Ten county schools are members of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and four others belong to the Alabama Independent School Association.

AHSAA region games from Week 4 were moved to the 10th week of the season and will be made up Oct. 28-30. The games of Oct. 28-30, all non-region games, will be moved forward a week to Nov. 4-6.

AHSAA playoff games were moved forward a week to Nov. 12, 19, 26, Dec. 3 and the Super Six on Dec. 8-10.

Calera, Vincent, Chelsea, Montevallo, Briarwood Christian, Shelby County, Oak Mountain, Pelham, Spain Park and Thompson are members of the AHSAA.

The extra week of rest was welcomed by Shelby County coach Bruce Breland, whose Wildcats were a little banged up after a 24-0 loss to Ben Russell in Week 3.

&uot;I had three starters that were injured,&uot; Breland said. &uot;They’ll all be back with us now.&uot;

Breland said quarterback Josh Dikis, fullback Montez Carter and safety Terence Cotton might have been unable to play in the Wildcats game against Homewood last Friday.

&uot;We enjoyed the rest time,&uot; Breland said. &uot;We didn’t have to work on anybody but ourselves and we needed that.&uot;

But missing practice time and a game during the middle of the season could throw a team out of routine, something Shelby Academy coach Dewayne Kervin said shouldn’t be too big of a problem for the Raiders.

&uot;You could get a little rusty with that much time off,&uot; Kervin said. &uot;But I think within a week or two you won’t be able to tell the difference. I really don’t think it’s going to affect us one way or another.&uot;

AISA Week 4 games were rescheduled for Nov. 5. Details about the playoff schedule have not yet been determined.

Coosa Valley, Cornerstone, Kingwood and Shelby Academy are all members of the AISA