Game called due to heat
By Brett Eversole
Van High School
When you play a football game, you can expect one of two outcomes. You either win or you lose. No one ever thinks the outcome of a football game will be decided by anything other than the end of the fourth quarter, but for the players from Van High School, our first game of the season ended in a way no one could predict.
The trip was a long one — five hours from Van, in Boone County, to Baker, in Hardy County. The game was scheduled for 1 p.m. on a Saturday due to the long trip, and we drove up the night before.
While setting in the hotel room, many players were glued to the Weather Channel. “Record highs for the Hardy County area. Heat advisory warning in effect.” Temperatures were supposed to reach 112 degrees, but I think it might have been hotter.
We knew the heat was going to be rough come game time. The sweat was pouring in the locker room even as we geared up. We were told to lie on the concrete floor to keep ourselves cool before game time, but that did not work very well.
Then, it was time to go warm up — as if we weren’t warm enough already. The sweat continued to roll as we ran warm-up sprints and did agility drills. None of us were prepared for what would come in the game.
The on-site paramedics demanded that with each time out called, a five-minute water break would be taken to make sure that players would not become dehydrated.
It was now time for opening kickoff. The game was going very slow: more than an hour had gone by and the first quarter still had not ended.
The first of our players, starting running back Nick Green, went to the ambulance after a long touchdown run caused him to overheat. That left backup running back and starting wingback Jesse Lusk to take over the running duties.
“It was so hot that even the referees were going down with heat exhaustion, and after our starting running back went out I knew I was in for it,” said Lusk, who eventually suffered the same fate but with much worse consequences.
“After the second quarter started, I started to not feel well. I should have gone to the ambulance with everyone else that was sick.” By that time, at least four players were receiving saline IVs in the ambulance.
“When I decided to go out, it had gotten out of control, and I was in trouble,” said Lusk, who eventually had to be taken to the hospital by emergency helicopter.
The game was called with five minutes and seven seconds to go in the second quarter. The paramedics stopped the game when the sixth player went out to the ambulance. The score was ruled as 14-7, with us (Van) losing to East Hardy in what is now being called “The Heat Bowl.”
