Allendale-Fairfax High releases 2026-27 Fighting Tigers football schedule

The Fighting Tigers will open their 2026 football season at home against Wagener-Salley on Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m., and Allendale-Fairfax High School’s early release of the schedule gives families, alumni and local businesses a first look at the nights that will shape fall in Fairfax.

The school posted the 2026-2027 football season notice on May 22 and said the official schedule and roster were now available for the Fighting Tigers. The calendar does more than mark games. It gives Allendale County a planning sheet for home stands, road trips and Friday nights built around school spirit, booster support and the routines that come with a small rural district where athletics can draw parents, students and neighbors back to campus.

Two dates stand out immediately on the athletics calendar. The Oct. 6 matchup with Bethune-Bowman is listed as Homecoming, and the Nov. 3 game at Latta is already on the board as a late-season road trip. The full slate also includes Hampton County, Blackville-Hilda, Denmark-Olar, Baptist Hill, Branchville, Whale Branch, Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Estill, giving the Tigers a season that stretches across a wide swath of the region and beyond.

The football page says official practice begins Sept. 8, with helmets and shoulder pads allowed that day and full pads beginning Sept. 10. Players must complete two days in helmets, two days in shoulder pads and one day in full gear before taking part in a scrimmage, jamboree or contest. The program has also pointed to scrimmages at Colleton County High School and at Military Magnet in Charleston, a sign that preseason work was already in motion as the district looked toward the fall.

The schedule lands as Allendale County Schools has also been advertising for a head varsity football coach who would serve as assistant athletic director, adding another layer of interest to how the program will be led. The South Carolina High School League’s 2026-2028 reclassification places Allendale-Fairfax in Region 7 alongside Hampton County, Hardeeville, Polaris Tech, Ridgeland, Royal Live Oaks and Whale Branch, a framework that will shape competition when the new school year begins.

For Allendale County, the calendar is more than a list of games. It marks the start of a season that will pull students into the stands, send families planning around kickoff times and give Friday-night businesses another reason to prepare for crowds when the Fighting Tigers take the field.