Friday morning was an exception.

In fact, the players were instructed to arrive in Room 250 at 7:45 where Langworthy ran down each of the Red Raiders’ 2019 opponents — from Week Seven to Week One.

The reason he went in descending order was because he wanted to save the best for last.

“The real reason we’re here is to announce something very important,” he said.

Jamestown sophomore running back Savon VanSickle, left, is all smiles Friday morning as he shakes hands with head coach Tom Langworthy after learning the Red Raiders will be opening their football season on Sept. 6 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

And with that, a photo of the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University was projected on a screen, followed by Langworthy’s announcement that the Red Raiders would be playing Baldwinsville of Section III at the home of the Orange in the season opener on Sept. 6.

“Who’s excited?” Langworthy roared from the front of the room.

He really didn’t have to ask.

“I saw a lot of mouths open,” he said.

The notion of playing at the Carrier Dome first was discussed about three weeks ago when, according to Langworthy, he was approached by Section VI football chairman Ken Stoldt.

“That immediately got our attention,” Langworthy said. “We wanted to take advantage of that opportunity to play at the dome. That’s something that doesn’t necessarily happen every year, so we’re really, really excited to play at the mecca of high school football.”

Langworthy and his staff are certainly familiar with the venue, having won a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship there in 2014, but it’s new to the young men on the current roster, so keeping the news quiet was a top priority.

“It drove the kids nuts,” Langworthy said.

Baldwinsville is coming off a 4-5 season and is coached by Carl Sanfilippo. If that last name is familiar in these parts, there’s a reason. Carl’s father is the late Joe Sanfilippo, the legendary former Salamanca and Jamestown coach and Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

“I’ve known Carl a little bit, and he’s always been a true gentleman,” Langworthy said. “He’s got a tremendous legacy coaching football as a major connection with one of the big names who established the success of Jamestown football. It’s great we’ll be seeing him and I’m sure it will be really special for him to look across the field and see Jamestown.”

The Red Raiders, who played in Class A in 2018, finished the season 5-4. This year they will return to Class AA. What better way to celebrate that return than with a game at the Carrier Dome the first Friday in September.

“It’s really special to be there, but once you’re there it’s just a game,” Langworthy said. “The message will be to be happy, be excited about being there, but when you’re there you have to be able to execute.”

If yesterday was any indication, the coaching staff executed their announcement “game plan” to perfection. Now the team has seven months to game plan for their date in Syracuse with Baldwinsville.

“I can’t wait for Sept. 6,” Langworthy said.