The world needs every bit of support and positivity right now.

On Friday, the April night sky will be lit up above most local high school football venues in the Times News coverage area.

Many District 11 schools will honor the Class of 2020, as well as doctors, nurses and first responders on Friday by lighting up their respective stadiums between 7-9 p.m.

“People in general are looking for ways to support these seniors whose senior years were cut short,” said Jason Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh Athletic Director. “But also honor our local heroes. A majority of our schools are so community based, it was just natural. We wanted to do something and it made sense.”

The idea of stadium lighting originated in Texas about a week ago.

“Over the past couple of weeks, the Colonial League has been trying to figure out something we could do to honor not just the athletes, but all of the seniors in our league,” Zimmerman said. “Bob Frye from Saucon Valley and I were talking, and he told me about them doing this in Texas, and we thought we could get the Colonial League schools on board. We wanted to invite everyone in District 11 to join. We received a great response.”

The 7-9 p.m. time window runs in conjunction with the “National Porch Light Campaign,” where families turn their lights on to honor doctors, nurses and first responders.

Stadium scoreboards will display the score as 20-20 in honor of this year’s graduating class. The down-and-distance will show 4th-and-19 to signify that COVID-19 is on its final down.

PIAA Assistant Executive Director Mark Byers reached out to Zimmerman and asked if the invitation could be extended across the state.

According to Zimmerman, over 40 District 11 schools have noted their participation on Friday. As of Tuesday night, TN area participants include Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Marian Catholic, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, Palmerton, Panther Valley, Pleasant Valley and Tamaqua.

“I couldn’t imagine what the seniors are going through,” said Lehighton Athletic Director Kyle Spotts. “Friday, March 13, everyone was in school and they were sent home. I thought everyone expected to be back days or weeks later. Here we are, a month later, and kids might not see some of those kids once again. Anything we could do to honor the kids and show support for the first responders, doctor, nurses and everyone on the front line - it’s a no brainer.”

Supporting residents are not permitted on any stadium grounds during the ceremony and should remain at home. School personnel will post pictures or videos on their social media pages. Local media will also be covering this event.

Anyone looking to support the initiative from home is asked to get a favorite noisemaker or rally towel, take a selfie and post it to your social media site. Tag @PIAADistrictXI in your post.”