Holy month, hot days mean football nights in Mich.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan high school football team is holding preseason practices in the middle of the night to help its Muslim players practice both faith and football.

The predominantly Muslim squad from Dearborn says the nocturnal regimen is a way for players to eat and drink while observing the holy month of daytime fasting known as Ramadan. The August heat also played a factor in Fordson High coach Fouad Zaban’s proposal to reverse the clock for a week of two-a-day practices.

Cutting practice wasn’t an option at football-crazy Fordson, which is coming off a one-loss season. But nobody wanted to lessen the significance of Ramadan in the Detroit suburb widely known as the capital of Arab-America.