The lightning capital of the United States is certainly prone to dealing with such a common component of thunderstorms, however the fact that it disabled the PHU football field has struck the students as quite inconvenient.

Following one of the recent storms of thunder and lightning in the area, the lights on the football field were deemed no longer functional. Word quickly spread that they were struck by a bolt of lightning.

For those uninterested in football, this news was not exactly devastating. For the football team, this meant the relocation of their first and third football games, which were intended to be played on their home field. Their fifth game, which took place on Sept. 14, ended up as their first home game of the season.

“When I heard we couldn’t play on the field I was disappointed because I was excited to play out there,” Bryan Valadares (‘19) said. “When we got to play our first home game it felt great, and getting the victory made it even better.”

The boys have been practicing and preparing for their season since the beginning of school, so the disappointment of the lights was a rough way to start the season off. They even had to borrow Countryside High School’s field for their pre-season game against Sarasota. Their game against Seminole was also moved to Seminole’s field, where the boys then had to put up with lightning and experienced delays.

The win that came with their first home game was victorious for them. As Valadares put it from the perspective of a football player in his senior year, “I want to give it my all,” and a usable field will allow him to do so.