ELCHO — The regular-season finale for the Florence varsity 8-player football team (7-1) at White Lake-Elcho (4-3) has been moved up a day.

The game was originally slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday. But Florence athletic director Kris Johnson said WIAA rules forced a change in plans.

According to the WIAA, the regular season must be completed by the Friday prior to the opening round of the state playoffs. Games played after that date are not considered in any playoff selection process.

The game at Elcho will now be played on Thursday, with the opening kickoff set for 4 p.m.

Johnson added the early start is required, as Elcho does not have lights at its football facility.

PANTHERS FIRE HEAD COACH

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule on Monday, ending the former Baylor coach’s tenure five games into his third losing season.

Rhule, the first NFL coach to be fired this season, went 11-27 with Carolina and leaves with roughly $40 million remaining on a seven-year, guaranteed $62 million contract. The Panthers fell to 1-4 on Sunday with a home loss to San Francisco.

Defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season. He coached Arizona in 2018, going 3-13.

The Panthers also fired two of Rhule’s longtime assistants, defensive coordinator Phil Snow and assistant special teams coach Ed Foley.

GIANTS PROMOTE ASSISTANT GM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have hired Houston assistant general manager Pete Putila as their new GM.

President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi announced that Putila will replace Scott Harris, who was hired as GM for the Detroit Tigers last month. The 33-year-old Putila was in his 12th season with the Astros and third as assistant general manager.

GOLFER NETS $30M IN 6 EVENTS

Dustin Johnson needed only six events to have a $30 million year, and he still has two events left with Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

Even though he failed to finish in the top 10 for the first time Sunday in LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok, Johnson clinched the inaugural LIV Golf Individual Championship.

The two-time major champion already has earned $12,758,600 — $3 million of that from four team victories in the LIV Golf Invitational series — with one individual title. Winning the season points title comes with an $18 million bonus.

The $30 million is in addition to the signing fee to join LIV Golf, which The Daily Telegraph reported to be about $125 million over four years.