Hurricane Helene derails the dreams of multiple high school sports teams: 'You cannot replace a life'

The timing and location of Hurricane Helene put thousands of passionate high school athletes in the midst of the fall sports season in its path. 

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee – the states most heavily affected by the storm – are among those where high school sports are intertwined in the fabric of local culture. 

High schools in dozens of communities in southern Appalachia are currently closed from the damage of the hurricane, and many have no clarity on when their sports teams can resume their schedules. 

For some schools, entire fields of play have been erased. 

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Pisgah High School athletic director Heidi Morgan in Canton, North Carolina said the school’s football, baseball and softball fields are covered in several feet of water and are "a total loss."

The Pisagh football team was in the middle of a 4-1 campaign before the storm hit and was coming off the heals of four straight dominant wins in which the team outscored its opponents by 110 points in total. The Pisgah Bears are coming off a season in which they suffered a heartbreaking playoff exit, losing their second-round game by one touchdown. 

Now, as the team appeared back on track and better than ever this year, the hurricane has thrown a wrench into their comeback story. 

"I’m sad for our kids. They’ve just been through so much," Morgan said. "In high school, you have to have a sense of normalcy. Our seniors, they’ve played at Pisgah Memorial Stadium eight times in four years due to COVID and then the flood in ’21. It’s just heartbreaking."

At the same time, Morgan said that other counties have seen casualties. 

"You cannot replace a life," she said. "Material things, you can replace."

The sports facilities at nearby Asheville Christian Academy were also destroyed by flooding. Athletic Director Joe Johnson said the first floor of its three buildings was flooded and the gym floor destroyed. Athletic fields and tennis courts were also ruined.

Asheville Christian's football team was off to a 2-1 start, with its homecoming game scheduled for Oct. 25. 

HURRICANE HELENE WREAKS HAVOC ACROSS ASHEVILLE, NC; NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED, 119 RESCUED

Hampton High School in Tennessee suffered the destruction of its football stadium by flooding from the Doe River. The Carter County School Board voted unanimously to spend $300,000 on the cleaning up of the flood-damaged property. The school was in the path of the Doe River, which overflowed its banks last Friday, during the onslaught of the remnants of Hurricane Helene. 

Then, the school system’s insurer, Tennessee Risk Management, denied the insurance claim for the damage, according to the Johnson City Press. Now, not only the sports teams, but the entire school could be looking for different hosting building accommodations for the rest of this year. 

Hampton's football team was off to a slow start after losing its first three games of the season. But just prior to the hurricane, the team got a glimmer of hope when it claimed its first win in a 60-14 blowout against Cumberland Gap at home. It may have been the last game ever played at Hampton High School's stadium. 

In Lexington, South Carolina, the state that was hit hardest by power outages from the hurricane, American Leadership Academy running back and wide receiver Abraham Hoffman has said that the situation at home amid the constant power outages has distracted from his football season. 

"It does take a little bit of focus off the game and season becausem you have to worry about a lot of stuff that’s going on at home," he said. "It definitely causes a distraction."

The school lost power for five days and the football team only recently returned to practice with its game postponed this week. Still, he and his coach have been witnesses to surrounding towns and teams that have had it much worse. 

"We kind of just have to push through it," Hoffman said. "You can’t sit back and let it affect you. Even though we went through it, it was tough, the hurricane and stuff, There are places that had it worse."

American Leadership coach Robin Bacon spoke with two head coaches from other areas who said "‘this looks like an atomic bomb hit in some of these areas.’ It’s just so bad.

"We take for granted having a hot meal," he said. "We take for granted having electricity. We take for granted that we can take a shower. And I’m talking to some of my football players, and they’re like, ‘Coach, we don’t have air conditioning.’"

At least 232 people have lost their lives across seven states, with North Carolina bearing the brunt of the devastation. As more areas are searched for the first time, that number is expected to rise. The lack of phone service and electricity in the region hampers efforts to locate missing individuals. 

Search crews are meticulously combing through the mountains, hoping to find survivors among the reported missing. Their efforts have been hampered by washed-out roads, downed power lines and mudslides. Helene has now become the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in the past 55 years.

President Joe Biden has pledged to provide significant resources to aid in the recovery efforts, acknowledging the immense cost, which is estimated to be in the billions of dollars. To expedite the delivery of essential supplies to those in need, Biden is directing the Defense Department to deploy 1,000 active-duty soldiers.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has also warned that FEMA "does not have the funds" to get through the hurricane season.

"We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season," Mayorkas said Wednesday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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