Pattonville played Parkway North last week on what would become one of the most memorable Friday nights of my senior year, which is saying something because there are lot of Fridays to come.

It was a good game on Sept. 7 with Pattonville holding a 12-0 lead with 8:12 left in the 4th quarter, but that’s when things got crazy. Abruptly, a giant lightning strike hit. The refs had the stadium cleared and the first huge wave of fans left the Parkway North campus.

Over the next hour, two more waves of fans vacated as more lightning ensued, and even the buses had moved closer getting ready to pick players up. But no players ever left, and at 10:15 p.m., players were walking back into the stadium after an 80 minute delay. Both teams started to warm up while a fleeting student section built back up in the wind and rain.

There were only a few Pattonville fans left, and the cheer team who had ceased cheering joined the Pirates student section in the stands with the Green Army section leaders Brooke Jenkins, Mason Murphy, and Will Polster. True fans Lucy Bodde, Sarah Johnson, Roma Patel, Emma Wiggington, and myself were the ones that didn’t leave due to the weather.

Cheering picked up just like before the weather delay, in fact, the cheering got wilder.

We yelled after fouls “You can’t do that!” and after a bad call, we shouted “Clarkson Eyecare!” We were definitely noticeable standing right behind the Vikings bench, forcing players and coaches to turn around surprised at how loud we were. At this point with the Vikings down, they had no fans left, or none that were cheering at least.

Even before the lightning strike, Parkway North’s fan section didn’t have much of a student section. They had less people than the Green Army (our student section) and were subsequently not as loud.

We continued cheering like crazy until the final play of the game. We talked about storming the field and chanting “I believe that we will win!” Unfortunately, only one of those got done.

We worked with the Webb’s mother to perfectly time our chant with 1 second left in the game, and this is when things got truly remarkable. We were still screaming about how we would win as the Parkway North’s QB went for a last-second throw. In a split second, our cheers were drowned out by the screams from the Pirate’s bench. On the field, I could see nothing but white uniforms running toward the end zone. It took us a moment to realize that Ricky Brooks had intercepted the ball and was destined for a 70-yard return and an end-of-the-game touchdown.

The eight remaining fans went running down the wet and muddy hill toward the open gate next to the field and screamed as the refs signaled a touchdown. The score changed to 18-0 as the clock hit o.0 on the scoreboard.

Even in the harsh weather, the loyal Pirates club showed up and showed out. We even used the weather to support our team. Some stomped in the puddles while our defense stomped their offense, while others used brooms and dust bins which were mysteriously left on the field to demonstrate how the Pirates swept the Vikings.

Even last week in the win against Wentzville Holt, a weather delay couldn’t stop the Pirate boys or their loyal Green Army supporters from showing up.

Be sure to join us this Friday in our home game against Webster Groves in your USA gear! Hopefully weather won’t be a factor this time.