Cade Bell, Grade 12, celebrated his birthday in style at Thursday’s game. He received some swag and a cake in the student section, saying, “They made my 18th birthday very special. I’ll never forget it.”
As Bell celebrated his birthday with his friends, a wave of bad weather started to approach the football field, and they had to delay the start of the game. Jake Rogers, Grade 12, said, “I really did not see anything incurring with the weather… I thought it was going to be a real pretty day, a good game, and we’d play some football.” Bell said, “Like, I understand it. I don’t want getting hit by no lightning. But the way it’s looking, we ain’t gonna play today because, well… It’s only getting worse. It’s only getting worse from here.”
And Bell was right. As the weather got worse, the night got later, and rumors started to spread the game would have to be cancelled. Fans started to leave angry. Michael Boatwright, Grade 11, asked, “What’s the point? They can play through the lightning.” As the night progressed to 8:30 with still no word of what would happen, fans grew even angrier that they were being held there waiting to see what would happen. “Give me my money back,” said Alaina Flowers, Grade 12.
After two hours of waiting, the players finally ran out and the crowd erupted into cheers. Their waiting paid off.
The game was even till the end of the second quarter, where Brevard scored another touchdown, giving them a 14-7 lead at halftime. Both teams were playing hard, and holding a very close game. Starting receiver, Mark Vanhook, Grade 12, had this to say when asked how the long delay affected the team: “[It] definitely threw off some chemistry issues. Just sitting there for two hours, just sitting there doing nothing, really doesn’t help. We don’t know if that could have helped us or hurt us.”
As the game progressed past halftime, the fans started to get riled up. Multiple adults in the stands were seen yelling lividly at the high school football teams. Mr. King brought over Officer Mace and Thor, his dog, and the irate bunch were promptly thrown out. When asked about the situation, Vanhook said, “I did actually catch that. I actually almost missed a play where I was supposed to go in because of [the people yelling]. I was looking at seeing what was going on over there.”
Towards the end of the fourth quarter, the underdog team of Franklin High School looked like they were going to pull an upset victory against the number one ranked Brevard Blue Devils, holding a 28-20 lead with four minutes to go. The fans were going crazy, and the team was excited, but they may have let that get the best of them. When Vanhook was asked if he thought they had the win locked in when they got that 28-20 lead, he had this to say, “No. No, with a team like that, you just can’t think the game’s over, man. Ain’t over till it’s over.”
Brevard started quickly pushing to the end zone, and made a touchdown, much to the disappointment of the Panther fans. Brevard converted the two point play into a tied game with 28-28. With only two minutes left, Franklin was unable to respond, and it was sent to overtime. Brevard caught an interception, which turned into a touchdown as the clock struck midnight. The possible fairy tale victory for the Panthers was lost.
