A ‘Stormy’ day in Metamora
METAMORA — South Elgin athletic director Jim Szymczak said it best as rain and lightning peppered this downstate town for over five hours Saturday as afternoon turned to evening.
“When we bring the Storm, we bring the storm,” Szymczak said, referencing the South Elgin mascot.
“Why couldn’t we have been called the South Elgin Sunny Days?” coach Dale Schabert asked.
A cold front triggered thunderstorms throughout the state Saturday, causing the delay and eventual cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled 4 p.m. nonconference game between South Elgin and Metamora. The game was called at 8 p.m.
The South Elgin varsity will return to play Metamora on Monday at 1 p.m.
“I just wanted to play today,” lamented South Elgin running back Adolfo Pacheco, frustrated by hours of weather delays.
However, there wasn’t a thing either team could do to stop Mother Nature. Lightning arrived during the third quarter of the sophomore contest at approximately 2:30 p.m. The sophomore game was halted with the Storm leading 27-0 with 9:51 left in the third period. It will not be resumed.
The weather ruined a well-planned road trip for the South Elgin football community. Double-decker coach busses transporting the freshmen, sophomore and varsity teams departed South Elgin High School Saturday at 6, 8 and 10 a.m., respectively. Fan and parent busses also made the approximately three-hour trip to Metamora, which is located 30 miles northeast of Peoria.
“I really feel bad for the fans and for Jim (Szymczak),” Schabert said. “He put together a phenomenal trip. It’s been first class all the way. We had three team busses and fan busses and parent busses. I feel bad after all the work they put in. Our job as a program was to go 3-0 today and give them the rewards and make it worth it.
Metamora’s field, a grass surface, took upward of an inch of rain during the afternoon storms.
“Looking at the field, I don’t want anyone getting hurt on the field and I know they don’t either,” Schabert said. “We’ve got a day in there to come back on Monday. It would be better for both teams to come back and play in better conditions. It’ll look more like a football game.”