Blountstown’s resilience reminds us what matters

It is easy for all of us, in our own moments of weakness, to place far too much emphasis and stress on things that are ultimately trivial.

As Week 10 looms in area high school football, it is reasonable to feel some angst if your team is still mathematically in the hunt for the postseason. You start to wonder about that one-possession game that could have gone differently earlier in the season, whether Week 10 can be a momentum or trap game or which defeated opponents will do your team a favor and garner you second-level points.

You wonder what life would be like in Week 11. Will it be on the gridiron, or will it be sitting at home?

It’s not to say those things aren’t important, but we do need reminders every so often where those concerns fall in the grand scheme.

And among many stark reminders, one that helps put the plight of a season being extended or not into perspective is when communities and, by extension, high school sports teams elsewhere, are affected by natural disasters.

On Oct. 10, Hurricane Michael caused catastrophic damage to the Florida Panhandle. According to the Weather Channel, when Michael made landfall, it was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph and storm surge of nearly eight feet. It is measured as the third-most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the continental United States and most intense to ever strike the Florida Panhandle.

A year ago, Blountstown played for the state championship in Class 1A, Florida’s smallest high school football division, falling, 35-20, to Madison County.

Blountstown is a town of around 2,500 about 50 miles west of Tallahassee.

The Tigers had improved to 6-1 on the season after a 30-0 win at Bozeman on Oct. 5.

By the time Michael had exited Florida, like the rest of the Panhandle, Blountstown was hit hard. That damage included the football team’s Ted Cooper Stadium, at which the home bleachers, field and lights were reduced to a mangled mess. Half of the school’s gym roof was blown off.

On Twitter, Blountstown football coach and athletic director Beau Johnson’s feed epitomized what many of us would feel when faced with such a moment of concern.

“Kind of puts things in perspective,” Johnson tweeted Oct. 9 as Michael crept up the Gulf of Mexico. “Sunday your worried about how to formation or adjust to this or that .... By Tuesday your worried if your house will make it through the hurricane”

Johnson heeded evacuation orders, heading to Georgia with his wife and son, and received reports from those who had stayed. He was thankful to eventually get word his home had survived, but was justifiably worried about others who weren’t so fortunate.

His quarterback, Trent Peacock, had relayed the story to a neighboring school’s coach, who was helping to serve warm meals at a church to those affected by Michael, that the roof of his home had blown off, but that he was “thankful for life.”

Johnson rented a truck in Georgia and headed back to Blountstown with supplies in tow.

Volunteers lent a hand in helping to clear the damage at Blountstown’s football field. Teams from around Florida and the region raised money and asked for donations for

hurricane relief on behalf of Blountstown and other neighboring schools impacted.

As of Oct. 16, an estimated 98 percent of Calhoun County, where Blountstown is located, still had no power.

But Johnson was able to help organize a meeting at the school’s fieldhouse of the football and volleyball teams and cheerleaders. It was a chance to do a welfare check, provide a meal on the grill and, above all else, bond as a community once more.

Johnson noted, after visits to relief locations, how ice and drinks had been donated for the gathering.

“Don’t buy the myth,” Johnson tweeted. “American has great (people).”

Under tents and huddled around tables, Blountstown student-athletes congregated. The volleyball team’s account tweeted, “Together with the support of each other we will rise up to any challenge before us!”

On Oct. 19, Lincoln, a football power in the Tallahassee area, went to Escambia and won, 28-3. The following morning, the team’s coaches and players hit the road 50 miles west to help Blountstown clear a spot so it could practice again.

“It’s really about helping your neighbor,” Lincoln’s Evan Quigley told ABC affiliate WTXL. “It’s deeper than football. We came out here to help the Blountstown football team. They went through a lot with the storm. It really did a lot of damage to their city, but we did our best to help them out.”

On Oct. 18, Johnson announced Blountstown had tentatively scheduled to return to the gridiron Oct. 27 in a neutral-site game against Walton.

“Our team voted today to play football the rest of the season,” Johnson said. “We cried together a lot. They love the community. ... These boys and coaches do not ever want to insult our wonderful people. We love our town. We love each and every one of you.

“For the first time in a week, I did not start my day crying but smiling as each and every kid came and hugged us, each other, etc. If my boys want to play, we will see you there next Saturday morning. God bless, and we love you all.”

So while you’re rightfully concerned about where your team might fall for Week 11 and Ohio’s pursuit of a state-title dream on the gridiron, keep a good thought for Blountstown.

They have lost so much, yet displayed more fortitude than many of us can fathom.

“Walked into a shelter earlier this week,” Johnson tweeted Oct. 20. “Man was flipped in his trailer (and) had to be cut out and rescued. I said, (‘Are you OK?’). His first words .... Coach when are the TIGERS playing again.

“Amazed at the grit of this town and its citizens.”

So are we, Coach. So are we.