From Clark Fork to Pocatello, west through Spokane, out to Odessa and everywhere in between, there was a different type of “Friday Night Lights” all across the region.

Even though it might have been a small gesture to honor a lost season, it meant a great deal to seniors who did not get to participate in spring sports and other activities this year because of stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools across Idaho, and several in neighboring Eastern Washington, lit up their sports fields on Friday night as part of the “Be the Light” campaign to celebrate and honor seniors who are missing out on their last opportunity to wear their team colors.

In a coordinated effort, schools turned on their lights at 8:20 p.m. – 2020 in military time to represent the graduation year – for 20 minutes.

Organizers instructed participants to not congregate in keeping with social distancing protocols and the states’ orders against mass gatherings as part of the effort to “flatten the curve.”

Students, families, friends and citizens of each community participated in makeshift parades through parking lots or around the high schools as they drove by the fields in recognition of the student-athletes and their four years of contributions to the school.

Emily Bronson is a senior at Coeur d’Alene who competes in discus, shot put and hammer. She was third at state last year in discus and second her sophomore year.

Bronson hoped to compete for a state title and perhaps a school or state record this season.

“I think that is a great idea to be able to represent all of the spring sports seniors and just seniors in general who are really missing out on this, the final stretch of their careers. I’m just excited and I think that it was a great idea,” she said.

Bronson, who placed third in discus at the Lewiston Invitational before the shutdown on March 14, said the idea of her senior season not happening is still hitting her.

“It’s definitely been very hard for me to kind of wrap my head around,” she said. “I’ve been very close (to a state title) these last couple years and I haven’t quite brought home that gold, and I was really hoping to do that this year. So it kind of sucks.

“I won’t get that opportunity. But I guess I’ll have to go with what I’ve got.”

Ashlynn Allen is a senior softball player at Lake City who is headed to Texas-El Paso on scholarship.

“I think it’s really cool that they’re putting it on all over Idaho and they’re just gonna try to recognize athletics and sports, because it is important,” Allen said. “It’s important to a lot of people, so I think it’s a great idea.”

Allen said it’s been frustrating and disappointing that Idaho has yet to officially cancel spring sports as Washington has. Still, she’s working out best she can to stay in shape with instructions and drills from her college coaches.

“I wish they would (cancel sports) just to let us kind of move on and have our peace with what’s going on,” she said.

She was thankful to see her teammates again, even if it was through their car windows.

“We have a group chat for the softball girls, and we were all planning on meeting in a parking lot with all of our cars and driving by at the same time just to, you know, give our last hurrah all together,” Allen said.

CdA senior vice president Trevor Drummond wanted to make sure that seniors who participated in drama, DECA and other clubs were recognized as well.

“I think it’s an awesome way to represent the seniors that didn’t get to finish out their school year,” he said. “For me personally, being on student council and also a former athlete, it really puts a spotlight on us and shows what we’re going through and how we could unite together one last time.”

Drummond said missing the senior rituals is what hurts the most.

“I’ve definitely reached out to a lot of my friends and fellow senior classmates and we’re all pretty upset about not having our prom or graduation, but if we just go through it together I think that helps out a lot,” he said.

The trend began on March 24, when Dumas (Texas) High School principal Brett Beesley came up with the idea.

“The idea hit me, and I immediately called football coach Aaron Dunnam,” Beesley told PressPassSports.com. “I then thought, ‘Why not challenge other schools to do the same?’

“It’s a way to show our kids we’ll be back and a sign of hope.”

Beesley posted later on Twitter: “To all the student of Dumas ISD: Tonight and every weekday night from 8 to 9 we are going to burn our stadium lights for you … as a symbol of hope and an assurance that you are on our hearts and minds,” with the accompanying hashtag #BeTheLight.”

The post went viral with several states taking part in the effort.

The Idaho campaign started in the southern part of the state and quickly spread.

Schools in North Idaho that participated included Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Post Falls, Lakeland, Sandpoint, Timberlake, Sandpoint, Priest River, Wallace, Bonners Ferry, Clark Fork and Moscow, as well as several Lewiston-area schools.

Eastern Washington schools included Central Valley, University, Liberty, Freeman, Lakeside, Clarkston, Tekoa-Rosalia, Chewelah, Kettle Falls, Cusick, Lind-Ritzville, Reardan, Liberty, Colfax, Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Odessa.

The West Ada (Boise) School District declined to participate citing the state’s stay-at-home order.

Schools in Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin also participated.

On March 31, the Idaho High School Activities Association extended its suspension of all spring sports activities through April 20 to coincide with Gov. Brad Little’s stay-at-home order and the state board of education’s “soft closure” of schools.

The board extended the soft closure through the rest of the school year on Monday but provided flexibility for school districts to reopen sooner if they get approval from local health officials and have satisfied to-be-determined criteria that is scheduled to be approved by the state board on Monday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee closed schools for the rest of the year on Monday. The Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association officially canceled spring sports later that day.

“I still keep in contact with some of my other track friends and seniors,” Bronson said.

“I know that our whole senior class community is really upset about everything that’s going on, and we’re just trying to be there for each other right now.”