Wikipedia notes that “the best way to survive a lightning strike is to avoid being in a situation where you might be struck in the first place.”
That advice did not keep the Ira Bulldogs from being struck, but it did keep them from being struck twice! Though the Bulldogs opened the game with a long touchdown pass on a Jaybird busted coverage, Jayton answered with a 35-yard strike from Sean Stanaland to Bode Ham on the next series.
From there the storm intensified: a sack fumble for a touchdown by Cutter Lee on Ira’s second possession, a Bode Ham 40-yard touchdown run, and then a Colt Gentry pick-six to leave the Bulldogs struck and stunned. By the end of the first quarter, it was 36-16 Jaybirds and then perception became reality when a real lightning strike caused a delay.
By the time the storm ended, despite the efforts of the Jayton administration to continue or reschedule, having been struck once, the Ira Bulldogs opted to end the game after one quarter and retreat before being struck again.
“Disappointed, wanted to keep playing.… Frustrating for it to end like this.… We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’re missing an opportunity to get better, really frustrating,” said Jaybird head coach Josh Stanaland.
When asked for an assessment for the short sample size, he noted, “Offense was fine….We were pretty much able to do what we wanted. Defense is coming on a little bit slower right now. I think right now we’ve got a bunch of guys that are trying to make up for other people; not a lot of trust on that defensive unit right now. Definitely not to our standard tonight.”
The Jaybirds take the field again at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 at Oglesby, where they will take on the 2024 TAPPS defending state football champion, the Pasadena First Baptist Warriors.
