The wind gusted violently from north to south, shaking the bleachers and whistling across the field. The sideways rain felt like pushpins against the skin.
The American flag flapped mercilessly from side to side and looked as if it would rip from its pole.
And yet, a football game was played at Virginia Union.
What was billed as "The only game in town" became maybe the only game on the East Coast, which was hit Saturday by Hurricane Irene. Despite some of the worst conditions imaginable, the game went on, and Virginia Union defeated St. Augustine's 12-0 at Hovey Field.
"We knew there'd be rain," VUU coach Michael Bailey said. "But you don't stop football for rain. You stop it for lightning and tornadoes. That wasn't in the picture, so we felt like we could get it in. This wasn't the first time we've played in rain."
Bailey, who also serves as Union's athletic director, said he made a joint decision with VUU President Claude Perkins to proceed with the game. St. Augustine's coach Michael Costa didn't object.
"Whatever they wanted to do, we were ready to do it," he said.
After the game, St. Augustine's showered and changed in Barco-Stevens Hall, Union's basketball arena. Ceiling tiles had collapsed, and puddles developed on the floor.
Virginia Union had to petition the NCAA to play this game, which filled a hole created in both teams' schedules when Saint Paul's cut its athletic program in May. Bailey said he didn't want all that hard work to go to waste.
The wind was so bad, when Union punter Paul Jones attempted the first punt of the game, it went up, then stopped as if it had hit a wall and plunged straight down.
The punt went minus-1 yard.
Jones had four punts for a total of 60 yards. When he had the wind at his back, he got one to go as far as 32 yards.
Passing proved futile. Union quarterback Cheston Hickman attempted only six passes. He completed one for 11 yards.
St. Augustine QB Joaquin Green completed 3 of 9 attempts, though two of the completions were dump-off passes.
So the Panthers turned to running back Jerell Washington, a 5-foot-8, 180-pound junior, who carried the ball 38 times for 150 yards and a touchdown.
"If it was 90 degrees and sunny, we would've gone with (Washington)," Bailey said. "We're going to run the ball. We're going to run it every week."
Trevon Winston fell on a fumble in the end zone for Union's first score, giving the Panthers a 6-0 halftime lead. They tried a two-point conversion after each touchdown, but converted neither.
A crowd of about 80 braved the weather. Umbrellas, crippled by the wind, brought little relief.
One fan to endure the entire game was Tino De La Cruz, who flew from Texas to watch his son Nick, a starting lineman for Virginia Union.
"This is Texas football, right here," Tino said.
St. Augustine's
0
0
0
0
—
0
VUU
0
6
6
0
—
12
VUU – Winston recovered fumble in end zone (run failed)
VUU – Washington 2 run (run failed)
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement