Lightning causes delays across Kansas City area for high school games

Lightning flashed overhead, threatening and eventually postponing the Olathe Northwest and Shawnee Mission West football game toward the end of a hard-fought first half Thursday at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium.

The rain did not hit for another half hour or so, but by then the teams and fans were long gone with the game set to resume at 4 p.m. Friday. There will be 1:48 left on the clock in the second quarter, and Olathe Northwest holds a 12-0 advantage. The game will be played prior to SM South’s home game against SM East.

Across the metro area, two more football games and a flurry of soccer games were also affected by the weather. Pembroke Hill and Northeast suspended their game until 4 p.m. Friday with Pembroke leading 20-7 at halftime. Staley waited through a delay in the third quarter, leading Liberty North 14-0 with 4:14 left on the clock.

Sunflower League opponents Olathe Northwest and Shawnee Mission West both entered Thursday’s game with one victory on their resume, but got off to slow starts.

Olathe Northwest punted twice and SM West punted once before the Ravens finally broke into the end zone.

However, it was probably not the one they were expecting.

The Ravens pinned the Vikings deep inside their own territory at the 3-yard line, then pushed them back across the goal line for a safety. The Ravens had started the previous drive on their own 6-yard line.

The defense struck again on the next possession, forcing a fumble after a 34-yard drive by SM West, and that is when the Ravens started to take hold.

They needed just five plays to move from the 37-yard line and score on an 18-yard touchdown reception by Kyle Rinck. Chris Diddle, a transfer from Olathe East, added the extra point to push the lead to 9-0 with 6:43 left in the second quarter. He was a first team all-Sunflower League selection for the Hawks.

The Vikings once again started deep in their own territory at the 8-yard line, but were forced to punt for the second time in the first half.

Diddle capped the next drive with a 39-yard field goal just before rushing off the field with his teammates for a 30-minute rain delay.

Fans were led out of the bleachers and into the Shawnee Mission South gym or back to their cars in the parking lot. Officials then came around about 15 minutes into the delay to announce that the game would be postponed for the evening.

The Ravens are attempting to start a streak with the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons. They recorded the first with a 5-4 record under coach Chip Sherman last season. The Ravens started this campaign with a 23-9 road victory in Hays on Sept. 4.

SM West is also going for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the Vikings won the Kansas Class 6A title in 2012. The team went 4-5 the following year, but bounced back with a 6-5 record and state quarterfinals appearance in 2014 under coach Tim Callaghan. It started the season with a 34-26 victory against Lawrence Free State on the road.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Lightning causes delays across Kansas City area for high school games."