High school football game stirs hope in Florida community after Hurricane Michael

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — The sun rose over Tommy Oliver Stadium on Saturday morning, and by the afternoon, a high school football game was underway.

That familiar scene of everyday life in the midst of so much chaos was a much-needed respite for an area recovering from Hurricane Michael's assault 10 days ago, when the monster storm battered the eastern Florida Panhandle, flattening homes, leaving thousands without power and claiming lives that are still being tallied.

Those who attended Saturday's game welcomed the free food and free admission, but mostly they relished an oasis from the devastation, watching and cheering as Lynn Haven's Mosley High School battled Pensacola High in a Class 5A-District 1 game originally scheduled to be played Friday night.

For once, who won and lost didn’t really seem to matter.

Steven Kyle, an eight-year resident of Lynn Haven with two daughters who attend Mosley High, stood close to the fence surrounding the football field, anxiously awaiting kickoff.

"To me, it's just an example of Bay County and how we are a community," he said. "We need this, to support our community. For these players, cheerleaders and band to do what they love is amazing. This is a great community effort, and I think it’s going to go a lot further than just today.”

On Saturday, more than 3,500 fans arrived for the game. Countless hugs were shared and it didn’t matter if those embracing were wearing apparel from Mosley, Bay, Arnold, Bozeman or any other school.

Fans were treated to hot dogs, hamburgers, snow cones, water, sports drinks and sodas, provided by BSN Sports and state Sen. George Gainer, whose district encompasses Bay County. After the game, players and families from the Niceville and Choctaw football programs provided meals for the players and coaches from Mosley and Pensacola High.

“I was talking with (Mosley) principal Brian Bullock and we were thinking we need to try to do something for the community,” Mosley athletic director Josh Vandergrift said. “Bay County superintendent Bill Husfelt grabbed me Monday morning and asked if I wanted to play football. That was all I needed to hear."

Tommy Oliver Stadium's $12 million facelift earlier this year seemed like a godsend, since the stadium, which opened in 1955, sustained little structural damage in the storm, though it still needed a lot of work to be ready for the game — including straightening out goalposts that Michael bent.

“When we got out here Wednesday, it was in disarray," Vandergrift said. "The superintendent got the contractor that built this place, and his guys got the goalposts straightened, scoreboards ready and we were good to go."

For at least a few hours Saturday, the game provided an escape from the frustration and worry that comes with waiting — waiting for power to return, for schools to reopen, for homes to be rebuilt, for life to go back to being ordinary.

"It’s been traumatic, the normalcy of life is no longer normal,” Kyle said. “Streets I’ve driven hundreds of times don’t look the same … . You miss turns and all that. The neat thing has been seeing neighbors helping neighbors. I have overwhelmingly seen folks helping each other. Whether you’re a Mosley fan, Bay fan, Arnold fan ... people are coming together and I think it will make us stronger in the long run."

Mosley head coach Jeremy Brown, who has been repairing damages to his own house as well as his neighbors’ houses after Michael hit, had limited practices this week with his team. They met for the first time post-Michael on Thursday and 30 of the team's 56 players were there. Friday’s practice had 45 as more players returned home.

"It’s been hard … . You go from being scared for your family, then you go for being scared for your extended family — the football team," Brown said. “Then you go from uncertainty to find out you are playing a football game. We had kids coming back in town from eight different states."

"Win or lose, we knew the game was going to be a special time. It gave people something to do for three hours. As far as this team, I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys."

Ultimately, Pensacola High won, 24-21, but it wasn’t about that. It was about the fact that a game was played. It was about the people in the Panama City area proving their resilience in the face of unspeakable loss. It was about a community coming together when its people needed it the most.

And, there could be more games like it in the future.

Both Brown and Vandergrift said it will be a "day by day" process as the football program tries to complete its season, a sentiment that reflects life in general for the area.

"We want to play," Brown said. "Our kids are ready. We are finishing the season, trying to get in the playoffs and make a run.”