When you live in Texas, there are certain truths you learn to accept: high school football reigns supreme on Friday nights and Mother Nature can sack you at any given moment.
That's why Arlington ISD stresses the importance of being prepared for days like Friday when bad weather and football might collide.
“We monitor the weather all day long,” said Leslie Johnston, spokesperson for Arlington ISD. “We’re getting updates from the National Weather Service and monitoring how it’s moving in.”
They’re also keeping a close eye on their phones. The district’s athletics staff uses a special app that will alert them any time lightning strikes within 30 miles of a stadium. Once it’s detected within 10 miles of a stadium, the game is stopped and the stadium is cleared.
“We’ll meet with the coaches and the administrators prior to the game and make any decisions that haven’t already been made to that point about where people will go,” said Johnston. “They’ll make an announcement at the beginning of the game.”
The Mansfield ISD Athletic Department has also been watching the forecast all day. They decided to start three games early to try to beat the storms.
“We’re hoping by starting a little bit early tonight. We can get our game in and get everybody home safely,” said Eric White, assistant athletic director for Mansfield ISD. “Then we don’t have to worry about delays or coming back tomorrow or any of those kinds of things.”
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The Lake Ridge vs. Timberview and Summit vs. Waxahachie games will now kick off at 6:30 p.m. Mansfield vs. DeSoto will start at 7 p.m.
