GOFFSTOWN – The game could not go on.
Already one hour behind schedule, the CHaD East-West All Star football game was suspended after one quarter Friday night due to thunderstorms. The game will resume Sunday at 1 p.m. at Manchester Memorial High School. West will have a 7-0 lead as it did when the game was called at 8:50 p.m. on Friday. There will be 11:36 remaining in the second quarter.
Kickoff was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday but lightning delayed warmups and players returned to the locker rooms until 7:55 p.m. Fans waited in parked cars and under the bleachers at Saint Anselm College with hopes that the storm would pass and the skies would clear.
The game kicked off shortly after 8 p.m. but the field and stands were cleared again 30 minutes later as more lightning appeared above the campus. At 8:44 p.m., officials announced the third and fourth quarters would be 10 minutes each with running time. At 8:50 p.m., the game was officially suspended.
By 9:15 p.m., the lots were empty, the field was silent and the lights were dim.
“We have to keep in mind that (East) is going through the same thing,” West safety and kicker Henry Yianakopolos said after the game was called. “We’re sitting here and they’re sitting there.”
Yianakopolos was slotted at safety for the West team and handled kicking duties. The Hopkinton graduate, also positioned as the third-string quarterback, nailed an extra-point attempt after Nick Leahy of Bedford covered 21 yards on the ground to score.
Yianakopolos took care of kicks for the RedHawks last season and stepped for the West team in practice earlier this week .
“I guess our coaches kind of forget to recruit a kicker … and they found out that I kicked for my team a little bit,” Yianakopolos said. “I was lucky to make one extra point and do two kickoffs, so I’ll keep it going.”
Leahy led all players in offensive production with 33 yards rushing on five carries. East rushed for just 10 yards in the quarter. Portsmouth quarterback Christian Peete threw five passes for 39 yards, the longest a 19-yard connection with Peter Navarro of Londonderry.
West Coach Jim Schubert will miss at least one player when the game resumes Sunday. Tyler DeNeill, a running back and safety from Merrimack, left the game in a sling. He sprained his shoulder while hitting East tight end Carter Doherty on a passing play. Peete put the ball on Doherty’s hands, but it slipped through the Laconia graduate’s wet fingers just as DeNeill made contact.
Doherty hobbled back to the huddle after it appeared he twisted his knee but he stayed in the game.
In the bowels beneath the stands, Schubert told reporters that Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas guaranteed the field at Memorial would be available Sunday.
Coaches, game officials and officials from Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth were frequently communicating in the hours leading up to the game. Each of those conversations ended with all parties agreeing that the game would go on as scheduled, Schubert said.
“Every 15 minutes (we spoke),” Schubert said. “Both teams wanted to play. The players said yes, 100 percent. Coaching staff – I’m going to lose a couple coaches that have to fly out of here – coaching staff said yes. Referees – yes. Everyone said yes except for the field.”
Due to the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, no stadium staff is available to have the game resume at Saint Anselm later this weekend.
The annual event, now in its sixth year, showcases the top high school football players in New Hampshire. Players and coaches are charged to raise money and contribute fundraising for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth. Total proceeds – including ticket sales, concessions and merchandise – were not available Friday night. The CHaD website shows that more than $221,000 have been raised so far.
As players exited the locker rooms into a wall of rain, Schubert stood by and flipped through a blue binder. Some of the pages were soaked, the ink smudged.
“My playbook,” he said. “I’m gonna have to dry it or something.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)