High Schools Suspend Seasons Amid Harvey Fallout

Rockport-Fulton and Aransas Pass high schools were scheduled to open the 2017 football season against each other Friday night.

Hurricane Harvey, though, has put football in the backseat as both communities were devastated by the category 4 hurricane that hit Friday night. But Pirates coach Jay Seibert and Panthers coach Ryan Knostman are determined to get their teams back on the field as soon as possible to help give their players, each school's students and the community a sense of normalcy.

Seibert and Knostman said the goal is to play their first games Sept. 15, which also is likely the first week the two schools will be back in session. Both teams have suspended their seasons indefinitely to assess the damage. Also suspending its season was Ingleside, which also was hard-hit by the storm.

"People say athletics is not important and right now it's not in the big picture but it's very important for our kids to get back to normalcy, to what's normal to them," Seibert said from his cell phone on Sunday. "I went up the football field and there were a couple of players looking around. We plan on the next two weeks to do everything we can to get the team together before that two weeks is over."

Seibert said he rode out the storm in Portland but said Rockport-Fulton's football stadium held up well as the storm's eyewall barreled into the community. He said there was damage to the bleachers, and the locker room facilities were good. But he said the school's gym is destroyed as is the school's girls locker room facilities.

The Aransas County ISD superintendent said the goal is to start school on Sept. 11 and Seibert said he wants to try to begin working with his team before that so they can play on Sept. 15. The Pirates are scheduled to play Leander Glenn in Seguin.

Knostman said the Aransas Pass' football field - Bo Bonorden Memorial Stadium - suffered heavy damage as both press boxes were destroyed, and he said there was significant damage to the baseball and softball fields.

He said all extracurricular activities at the school have been suspended, but like Seibert, he wants to be able to play on Sept. 15. According to a message on the Aransas Pass Independent School District's Facebook page, school is canceled until further notice.

"I'm going to try my hardest that once school reopens that we get rolling again," Knostman said. "I want to do everything in my power to have the shortest amount of delay possible that once we open school we will be resuming extracurricular activities."

Ingleside football coach Hunter Hamrick, who was in Waco, said their season has also been suspended and said the school lost light poles and both goal posts at their football stadium.

He added the school's new indoor athletic facility looks to be fine. A Facebook message from the district said classes are canceled until further notice.

Here's an update on other area schools

REFUGIO

Refugio head coach Jason Herring said he has not really thought about football after the devastation the storm has caused in the town.

Herring said the district's new high school has severe damage on the roof along with more damaged homes and businesses throughout the community. He said they will know more in the next few days onces they can assess the damage.

"We haven't really thought about school or Friday's game," Herring said. "They whole city is out power, sewer for at least 10 days. We don't know how bad it is. We have tried to reach out from a team standpoint to a bunch of our kids ot make sure they are OK or need anything. We have no cell service and all the means that we usually have and we just take for granted are gone."

CCISD

Corpus Christi ISD Athletic Director Brenda Marshall said she went to the Cabaniss Athletic Complex and Buc Stadium over the last two days and said both football stadiums did not sustain major damage. She said the fields look good and light poles are still up.

Both stadiums do have bent goal posts, and Marshall said there is some water damage at Buc Stadium in one of the press boxes. Marshall said what happens this week in terms of sports will be determined by power to the schools. Marshall added they could play games Saturday if needed this week.

King and Ray were scheduled to play each other on Thursday, and also Carroll and Miller were set to start their seasons on Friday. Moody is scheduled to play West Oso and Veterans Memorial is playing Laredo Martin.

CALALLEN

Calallen football coach and athletic director Phil Danaher said he was having a voluntary practice on Monday as they begin preparations to open the season on Friday at home against Mercedes.

The Wildcats do not have school on Monday and lost their final scrimmage against Ray because of the approach of Hurricane Harvey.

"Those who are in town and make it we will have a work out and I told my coaches if you cannot make it don't worry about it," Danaher said. "You don't want to try to take any risks to get back into town if it's flooded."

The Calallen football team is also teaming up with neighbor school Tuloso-Midway for a fundraiser from 9 a.m.-12:45 p.m. for the affected communities from Hurricane Harvey. The fundraiser will take place on the home side of Calallen's football stadium.

GREGORY-PORTLAND

Head football coach and AD Rick Rhoades said Sunday he has not had any conversations with the administration about when school will resume and if they will open the season against El Campo on Friday.

He said he has been in contact with several of the players and said players went as far as away as Alabama. G-P will not be in school on Monday.

"I think most of them evacuated and that's going to be the biggest chore is when we get back is trying to get everybody rounded up," Rhoades said.

TULOSO-MIDWAY

Warriors head coach Wade Miller spent much of Sunday in Woodsboro helping residents clean up after the town was devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

"The damage there is unbelievable," Miller said. "I don't think there is a house in that town that does not have any damage. I've never seen anything like it."

Miller said Tuloso-Midway is out of school on Monday and was not sure about Tuesday. He said if can get back on the field Wednesday and Thursday they can still play Laredo Nixon on Friday. The Warriors will play in Laredo.

"We are going to try to play Friday night if there is any way possible," Miller said. "I'm not opposed to playing Saturday but we haven't talked about that yet."

BEEVILLE

Coach Jerry Bomar said if they are able to return to school on Tuesday they should be able to open the season on Friday against Kingsville.

"We definitely want to play and we are planning on playing some way," Bomar said.

He said he was waiting to make final plans with Kingsville.

SINTON

Pirates coach and athletic director Tom Allen said the school has power and water and the goal is start school on Wednesday. He said if they start then it is not likely they will be able to open the season on Friday against Rio Hondo.

"It's more of a safety deal more than anything," Allen said. "Whenever kids come back we certainly don't want to rush them."

ROBSTOWN

The Cotton Pickers were scheduled to open the season against Ingleside on Friday and coach Richard Kattner said he is working to try to find another game if he can.

He said that school is canceled for Monday but said the school has minimal damage and he said the town did not receive many of the damaging effects of the storm.

FLOUR BLUFF

Hornets AD and football coach Steinbruck evacuated and headed back to town Sunday afternoon. The school canceled Monday and Tuesday so far. The district sent out a news release Sunday announcing the cancellation of the Flour Bluff season opener against Cedar Park Vista Ridge and that all athletic events were postponed until further notice.

LONDON

London ISD is on intercession and was not scheduled to have classes this week. Athletic Director Robbie Moreno said the London at Bishop volleyball match scheduled for Tuesday has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Pirates, which were scheduled to open their season Thursday against Bishop, are looking at playing Saturday or canceling the game pending the ability of students in both communities to return after fleeing Harvey.

WOODSBORO

Woodsboro, which bore the brunt of the storm's effects, will remain closed this week, but AD Xavier Rangel said he has heard a timeline of anywhere between two and four weeks before the school will have electricity restored.

"The main thing right now is to start cleaning up the community," Rangel said. "Hopefully it will stop raining for a little while. As far as athletics, our main concern is trying to make sure that everyone is safe. We'll see what we get when we get back to school and go from there."

The first-year Eagles coach said the play clocks and scoreboards did not withstand the wind and that both sets of field goal posts were bent. The Dome, basketball and weight facility were in good shape Rangel was told.

Although games will not be played soon, Rangel said he wants to resume athletics as soon as the school can reopen and facilities are safe to use.

"It is one of those deals where if we can help the community get their mind off things for a few hours on a Friday night, hopefully we can do that," Rangel said.

Woodsboro is in a five-team District 16-2A Division II and is not scheduled to play its first district game until Oct. 13.

BANQUETE

Banquete's season opener against Santa Gertrudis Academy, originally scheduled for Bulldog Stadium, has been tentatively moved to Javelina Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Banquete athletic director Kevin Hermes said Bulldog Stadium lost one of its light poles due to high winds and was unsure of a timeline of when it might be replaced.

The Week 1 schedule change is the only one that has been made at Banquete so far.

SGA athletic director Bradly Chavez said the expectation is that the school will reopen on Tuesday as scheduled.

ODEM

Odem athletic director Armando Huerta said the school's baseball field sustained severe damage as the home bleachers were flipped by the heavy winds and tore down the fencing on the first base side of the field.

The Owls were scheduled to play Taft in Week 1 and Huerta said the teams agreed to meet Friday, Oct. 6, when both schools had an open date.

Lack of water and electricity is keeping both campuses closed as of Sunday.

SKIDMORE-TYNAN

Skidmore-Tynan athletic director John Livas said school is canceled on Monday and the district is taking a wait-and-see approach for Tuesday as students and teachers return to the area after evacuating. He said the school's scoreboards on several fields had been damaged, but was unaware of any further damage.

Unsure of when S-T will return to the classroom, Livas confirmed Sunday that the Bobcats' season opener against Freer has been canceled.

GEORGE WEST

George West athletic director Brett Kornegay said he did not foresee any reason why the Longhorns' scheduled season opener against San Diego would not be played as of Sunday.

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