Watching East turn out the lights at Hutchens Field

Friday afternoon, a brief thunderstorm swept through and spoiled plans Linda and I had had to go for a walk. Instead, we decided a high school football game might fill the bill.

The Abraham Lincoln High School Railsplitters (3-0) were going to be hosting the Scarlets of Des Moines East (1-2). We'd talked about going to games off and on but this would be an interesting introduction. As we waited in line to get our ticket, Linda and a woman in a Rails sweatshirt spoke briefly about what might be ahead. "We should win this one."

Everything was a little damp and most of the bleachers had faint footprints of mud from people climbing higher in the stands. We found a couple drier, cleaner seats and watched the teams warm up. The Lincoln fans were pretty chatty and looking forward to the game. East had a small but vocal cheering section.

The public address speakers crackled as the announcer informed us that, as a result of the storm, the scoreboard was not functional. Time would be kept on the field. Interesting.

Midway through the first period, the lights on the right side of the far side of the field suddenly went out. With only four towers around the field, this was a significant loss. After several minutes, play was resumed while the maintenance crew worked to get the tower back on line. Soon we were fully illuminated again but East was in control on both sides of the ball. With a little over four minutes to play in the first half, both towers on the far side dropped. After several minutes, the officials sent the teams to half time. The band took the field and did a nice job in the half light. By the time they were done, the lights were back on line.

The teams retook the field to play out the remaining minutes of the second quarter. East scored their fourth touchdown in the final seconds. The teams took three minute break and then started the third quarter. The light towers remained lit but the Rails never did catch fire and lost 35-0.