KANSAS CITY, Kan. — There’s a lot to be excited about for the upcoming football season at Turner High School. The Golden Bears will open the season at home in a gleaming new stadium.

Thanks to new Head Coach Rick Byers, the school has more than doubled the number of kids coming out for football (72 this year, 35 last year).

There’s just one tiny hitch: Not enough helmets to go around.

“We ended up needing a few extra-large helmets, several actually,” said head coach Rick Byers. “And we just couldn’t find them. We couldn’t find them to buy them, we couldn’t find them to rent them.”

A pandemic-related shortage coupled with a factory fire at helmet manufacturer Riddell created a dearth of headgear nationwide.

“There’s people all over the Midwest and all over the place trying to get helmets,” Byers told FOX4.

Luckily, Byers was able to cash in favors from friends and worked the phones tirelessly to find the eleven helmets needed for Friday’s opener.

Shawnee Mission West High School provided several helmets.

Byers believes it’s a good lesson on teamwork and sportsmanship.

“I think that’s what we’re trying to tell them Turner is all about,” Byers said. “We’re going to have each other‘s back, we’re going to work hard and we’ll get it done no matter what.”