BELLEVILLE, Ill. – Hurricane Helene forced multiple schools across the St. Louis area to move their Friday night football games up a night ahead of the expected impacts of the storm this weekend.
It was a move that was well-received by fans at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville.
The school hosted its homecoming game Thursday against Marquette High School. The Crusaders cruised to a 49-0 victory in front of their home crowd.
School officials say the decision to move the game from Friday to Thursday wasn’t an easy one. The school made the call Wednesday. They had to make sure both teams approved of the last-minute change, and also confirm the referees and stadium workers and volunteers available.
Althoff Athletic Director Kathy Wuller said she felt they made the right decision.
“Just watching with the hurricane weather coming in, we decided to pull the plug and have a better experience for our kids and not have to worry about the rain,” Wuller said.
With it being the school’s homecoming game, there was an extra emphasis on weather given the special festivities that were scheduled at halftime.
But Head Football Coach Austin Frazier said it was also an issue of safety for the players.
“I think any time you get that high of winds, that much rain, there still is an element of safety. Even though we’re on turf, things can get slippery,” Frazier said. “Why fight it?”
