Friday Night Lights looked more like Friday Night Lightning – as it was put on Twitter - in Week 3 of the area's high school football season.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Many area games were either suspended or postponed before a block could be thrown in anger as severe storms began rolling through the area Friday; in at least one case, heavy rain and lightning started during the playing of the National Anthem right before the start of a game, reports indicated.
The entire Southwestern Conference schedule was affected by the storms, including Edwardsville's game at Collinsville, where officials suspended the game right before a kickoff following a Tiger touchdown with 1:37 left in the first term and EHS holding a 21-0 lead on the Kahoks. The game will be resumed at 10 a.m. Saturday at Kahok Stadium.
Persistent lightning in East St. Louis forced the postponement of the Alton-East St. Louis clash at Clyde Jordan Stadium; the Redbirds and Flyers will meet at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. In Belleville, heavy rain and lightning struck during the national anthem and prevented Granite City and Belleville East from playing; the game will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Belleville West-O'Fallon game was postponed to 7 p.m. Saturday and moved to West from O'Fallon.
Heavy rain early Friday morning forced postponement of Marquette Catholic's Prairie State Conference clash against Nokomis at Public School Stadium; the game will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday. Storms also forced delays in the East Alton-Wood River-Bunker Hill game in Bunker Hill, with the Oilers taking a 44-22 win over the Minutemen, as was the Carrollton-Greenfield game in Greenfield, with Greenfield taking a 44-32 win.
Not all games were affected by bad weather. Civic Memorial's game at Mount Zion proceeded without interruption, with the Braves defeating the Eagles 40-6. Hardin-Calhoun's game against Pleasant Hill, was played without interruption, with the Warriors taking a 46-12 win. Roxana's home game against Hillsboro also was played without a storm interruption, with the Shells falling to the Hilltoppers 20-12; Jersey fell at Mattoon 50-33, while Piasa Southwestern got by Litchfield 42-41.
IHSA rules require a minimum 30-minute delay whenever a game official sees lightning, regardless of where the location may be. Each lightning strike requires a 30-minute delay.
More like this:
Related Video:
