St. Louis County announced this week that it is lifting the restriction on games for high-contact youth sports such as football, and the Mehlville School District’s plan to bring football back to the district was approved with Friday night’s Mehlville-Oakville rivalry game given the green light.

The interdistrict rivalry game will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at Oakville High School, 5557 Milburn Road, as originally scheduled before the football season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With youth-sports restrictions on games and spectators in effect in St. Louis County, the district had announced two weeks ago that it would seek to play the game outside the county. Plans had been made to hold the game at Pacific.

Although the game is back on Mehlville’s home turf, not everything will be the same as it was pre-COVID: Spectators will be limited to two per student participant, including football players, cheerleaders and Golden Girls.

Despite being the first game of the team’s season, the game will also serve as Oakville High School’s Senior Night.

A district spokeswoman said Thursday that the game will likely be livestreamed for those unable to attend due to the restrictions.

This article is breaking news and will be updated with new information. Check back for updates.