Blown transformer causes East Valley-West Valley game to switch fields

No one was suggesting they do it it again, but the novelty of playing the same football game on two different fields went better than expected for West Valley and East Valley high schools.

Call it “Friday Night Lights,” times two, a Spokane Valley rendition of New York’s Subway Series.

The Trent Avenue Twin Bill, if you will.

“It was fun for us,” West Valley coach Craig Whitney said after a game that began at 7 p.m. Friday at East Valley and ended more than four hours later in a 30-13 Eagle win – at home. It was only then that Whitney looked at his watch and realized that he’d been on duty since 6:30 in the morning.

Not that anyone had a choice. When an overheated transformer made conditions unsafe at East Valley, officials halted the game with the visitors leading 14-7 early in the second quarter.

They met at midfield to consider the options. The first idea to be floated – playing at noon the next day – was quickly deflated when Whitney pointed out that four of his senior players had out-of-town college visits on Saturday.

“No way am I playing without those seniors,” Whitney said. A Monday night rematch also was considered – until someone came up with the notion of moving the game to West Valley – immediately.

And move it did, more quickly than most could imagine. Moments after the decision, the East Valley parking lot was full of exiting vehicles. Fans from both schools drove the 8 miles to West Valley in a caravan that filled Trent as if it were a Friday night cruise.

Meanwhile, a few quick phones calls got the machinery moving on Buckeye Street, where everyone from concessionaires to the PA announcer performed at their Friday night best.

“I don’t know, this has probably happened somewhere in the United States,” Whitney said. “It was just a great job by our staff and for getting everything ready.”

Likewise, the teams did their best to adjust. As their players piled into buses, Whitney and rival coach Adam Fisher utilized the trip as a pre-halftime. “We made a few adjustments,” Whitney said

The Eagles also drew on some valuable experience. Last summer, at a camp hosted by the University of Montana, the Eagles would scimmage against one team, break for lunch, then face the same opponent in the afternoon.

“This was just like that,” said Whitney, whose team waited for the Knights before both squads took the field for a 10-minute warmup.

That accomplished, the game resumed at 9:29 p.m. The Eagles extended their lead to 21-7 before both teams returned to the locker room for the real halftime.

At that point, the atmosphere moved from ridiculous to sublime, as several dozen students from both schools put on an impromptu dance that drew a hearty applause. The entry gate was unmanned, giving bargain hunters a free glimpse of a football game – two-thirds of it, anyway.

The new hosts took care of business on the field in the second half. East Valley got within 22-13 early in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles put the game away with about 6 minutes left. When the game finally ended at 11:12 p.m., Whitney and his players made the short trip to their own lockerroom and celebrated.

Nine hours later, Whitney and his staff would be back, dissecting film from their 30-13 win and preparing for next week’s game against Cheney. “That’s our schedule,” Whitney said.

Even when it gets thrown out of whack sometimes.