Columbia can celebrate its first home game a week earlier.
On August 19, Columbia Athletics announced on X that its Week 1 away game against Independence had been moved to Columbia Station.
The game is scheduled to take place on August 23 at Columbia’s Southwest General Stadium.
“It’s always good to play at home,” Columbia coach Michael Rice said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t change much other than being in a more familiar place.”
According to former football coach and current athletic director Jason Ward, Independence is in the process of building new bleachers for its fans.
“(Independence) reached out a few months ago and just said they were getting new stands, they might not be ready yet and would we mind hosting the game if needed. We said, ‘No problem,'” Ward said.
With Columbia hosting another home game, Ward likes the idea of the community experiencing another home game.
“I’m sure everyone is excited. It’s a good energy boost knowing we usually play a few games before school starts,” Ward said. “I hope everyone is talking about it, excited, and we have a lot of fans. Early predictions say it should be a beautiful night. Hopefully Raider Nation will be as good as it always is.”
Rice was aware of the change in plans in advance. The news leaked out within the community before the announcement. When he told the team, he saw smiles spread across the room.
“I think the word had gotten out a little bit, but when (the players) heard it from me, they had a lot of smiles on their faces and a lot of excitement. They’re excited to be back home,” Rice said.
Columbia has an 8-3 record against the Blue Devils since 2004. The Raiders’ 41-6 win in last year’s season opener was their third consecutive victory in this matchup.
In Ward’s final season, the Raiders finished 10-2 and won a Division VI, Region 22 playoff game. Independence lost its first six games but won its final four to finish with a 4-6 record.
“Coach (Rick) Adams makes sure they’re always ready to go,” Rice said. “They do some things on offense that they do. They coach (the players) really well every year. We have to be prepared for those things. We have to play our best game. We have to iron out some of the mistakes we made last week in the last scrimmage (against Trinity). We’ve been focused on being the best version of ourselves that we can be and then we can go into every game with confidence.”
This will be Rice’s first game as Columbia coach, succeeding Ward, and he is excited for the opportunity to earn his first win under the lights on his home field.
“I’m ready to get started here and see what we have,” he said. “I want to see what we have and see the work we’ve put in pay off. We can go out there and compete. One of the things I love about coaching is I love competing. I love coaching guys and working with a team to go out there and compete. We’ll have a chance to do that on Friday night and we’re excited about it.”
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