Photo by Tony Chen
Staff Photographer
The SPHS football senior night matchup against the Temple City Rams, along with the halftime Homecoming Royal Tiger festivities, was halted by a sudden thunderstorm that drenched the fans sitting in the packed bleachers at Ray Solari Stadium Friday, Oct. 12.
Midway through the second quarter, the skies to the south of Roosevelt Field began to illuminate with frequent flashes of lightning. The crowd gasped at the lightning strikes, and the referees announced that the game would be delayed for 30 minutes due to the inclement weather. ASB began to set up their announcement of the Royal Tiger with a Greek mythology-themed skit, but chaos began to unfold as heavy rain poured down on everyone from spectators, to the band, and the Royal Tiger nominees. Senior Hyurk Ju Lee was quickly announced the Royal Tiger, and fireworks were set off from the baseball field as the startled fans in the bleachers began to make their way out of the stands.
The league contest had started in a conventional manner, following ceremonies for South Pas’ senior varsity football players. Despite the return of starting quarterback Samuel Luna-Long, and senior center Nathaniel Quirk, the Tiger offense was not able to move the ball in the opening half. After suffering two sacks on their first possession, SPHS was forced to punt the ball to the Rams. Temple City drove the ball deep into Tiger territory, before converting on a crucial 4th and goal to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter Temple City, with a primarily short passing offense, was knocking on the door of extending their lead to 14-0 before the the game was temporarily suspended.
The Tigers, who are 0-2 in league, will make up the game against the 0-1 Rams Monday, Oct. 15 at 3:30 pm.
