Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire has weird feel about Friday home game on `holy ground' for Texas preps - Newsday

Head coach Joey McGuire says the timing feels strange to him personally. Friday nights across Texas belong to high school football, he said, calling it "holy ground" for the sport in a state that treats prep ball like religion. McGuire spent years living that tradition himself, winning three state championships as head coach at Cedar Hill High School near Dallas before taking over at Tech.

The 13th-ranked Red Raiders enter the game as the defending Big 12 champions. A Friday kickoff means Tech football will share the spotlight with every high school stadium in West Texas instead of owning Saturday to itself, a shift for fans used to Lubbock going quiet so families could watch their own kids play under lights across the South Plains.

For neighbors here, it means planning around a schedule that has not existed in generations. Games at Jones AT&T Stadium have been a Saturday ritual for as long as most fans can remember. This one forces a choice between prep ball and the Red Raiders for anyone with a kid on a local team.

McGuire coached Friday nights on the other side of that rivalry for over a decade. Now he is the one breaking the tradition he used to protect.