Delay of Game

Rockhurst High School required an act of God to stop Blue Springs’ Andrew Tuggle on the night of Friday, September 7. Lightning streaked across the southern sky as the Wildcats’ running back streaked through the Hawklets’ defenses. The storm interrupted the game, separating the national anthem from the final gun by three days.

Blue Springs came to Rockhurst with ten months of anticipation built up inside their helmets. The Wildcats’ season ended abruptly last November when they frittered away a second-half lead to Rockhurst in the state playoffs as Tony Temple, Rockhurst’s freshman phenom, broke free along the sideline and scored the winning touchdown. It was the second heartbreaking loss to Rockhurst of the season for the Wildcats — their only two losses of last year. Temple had an even bigger game in their first meeting.

Still, Blue Springs does not fear Rockhurst. Most teams enter the Hawklets’ sanctuary with fear in their hearts and Tony Temple on their minds. Blue Springs’ players had vengeance in their thoughts.

Tuggle is the best junior running back that no one has heard of. “He deserves to be recognized as one of the better backs in the city,” says Kelly Donohoe, Blue Springs’ second-year coach. “He’s a kid who doesn’t say much. He’s very introverted. But he’s a warrior back there for us.”

Tuggle didn’t make The Kansas City Star‘s preseason high school section that featured Temple in a full-page color illustration. An impressive two-page spread highlighted five other running backs. Tuggle simply shrugs and grins. “As long as our team does good, it doesn’t really matter,” Tuggle says.

While Tuggle dominated on the ground, teammate Josh Barge ruled the Rock through the air. Barge is a flat-out certified stud. He might be the best clutch player in Kansas City. Last year Barge burned the Hawklets’ highly regarded corner, Noah Strozier, for two touchdowns in their first meeting. Strozier is a kid with the kind of talent that Tony Severino, Rockhurst’s head coach, believes will one day have him playing in the NFL. Strozier, though, did not line up opposite Barge for most of the game. Barge saw this as a sign of Rockhurst’s arrogance. “They felt like they could come out and play their normal defense against us, and they did,” said Barge, who smoked Rockhurst for two long touchdown receptions. “That’s what happens when you do that.”

Temple’s game started out bad and deteriorated from there. When the game was postponed in the second quarter because of lightning, Temple’s 5-foot-10, 180-pound body had been tossed about and crushed like a Coke can. Blue Springs’ defense held him to minus five yards’ rushing the first half. When the game resumed last Monday night, Temple dropped a wide-open pass that looked like a potentially huge gainer and fumbled the ball away as he fought to score a rallying fourth-quarter touchdown. Temple was inconsolable afterward.

Severino expects Temple and his teammates to make a full recovery. “We did not come out to play on Friday,” says Severino. “These kids hadn’t lost a game to anybody in town since they’ve been in school. They hadn’t lost a game in the last two years. So they just figured they’re going to beat people without any effort. They needed this. Friday night probably did us more good than any game we’ll play the rest of the year.” Severino saw a change in his team when the two teams got together to resume the game on September 10. “I’m proud of our guys after tonight,” said Severino. “We competed. We lost 21-7, and I’m a happy guy.”

Happiness proved fleeting. The morning after, jet fuel and gravity became tools of terror in America. An interrupted game was all but forgotten as professional and college sports postponed their seasons for several days. And for nearly a week, the national anthem could be heard on CNN, but not at the ballpark.