Fieldcrest, Aurora Christian to play Week 1

Less than a week before the start of the fall 2021 high school football season kicks off, Fieldcrest finally found a Week 1 opponent.

The Knights will travel to Aurora Christian for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.

“We are extremely excited to get a Week 1 game,” Fieldcrest coach Mike Freeman said. “The thought of not starting the season under the lights until Week 2 felt odd. We know Aurora Christian has had a ton of success and we have a lot of respect for that. They will be a very difficult opponent because of their talented players, but our team has been preparing for weeks for an opponent to pop up. We have 29 guys itching to get out onto the field and prove themselves. We are going to be thankful and blessed to be playing Friday night.”

The game came about after Aurora Christian’s Week 1 opponent Chicago Noble/Johnson was unable to field a team.

“(Aurora Christian) looked at teams that had a Week 1 opening and contacted us,” Freeman said. “We really wanted a game, so we agreed to play them.”

The Knights went 4-0 in the spring season and 12-1 with a Class 2A semifinal appearance in 2019. Fieldcrest has qualified for the postseason in six of the last seven fall seasons.

The Eagles were 2-3 in the spring and qualified for the Class 2A playoffs in 2017 and the Class 1A postseason in 2018 and 2019.