Lights out: Stadium loses power, Chippewas recharge for win
During the Ohio versus CMU football game, the Kelly/Shorts Stadium overhead lights lost power, Wednesday, Nov. 4.
College football games experience all kinds of delays -- weather, animals running onto the field, fans throwing objects -- but CMU and Ohio experience a common, yet hectic delay:
A power outage.
Just after 8:25 p.m., a widespread power outage hit Mount Pleasant, and it included Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
In what seemed like an instant, the stadium lights flickered then shut off. The 3,200-square-foot videoboard shut off for a split-second, then restored to light the suddenly darkened stadium.
In terms of the game, the Bobcats were driving down the field and were poised to tie the game at 20-20 with 1:17 to play in the first half when power to the stadium cut out.
Tom Stapleton, the game's referee, announced the teams would head to their respective locker rooms for halftime. The remainder of the second quarter would be played and the third quarter would immediately follow.
"I haven't had the lights go out in a game before," coach Jim McElwain said. "I thought they handled it real well. We knew it was going to take time to get them back on."
Just as the teams were heading to the locker room, the public address announcer in Kelly/Shorts Stadium asked fans -- the players' parents and the Chippewa Marching Band -- to stay calm as the technical difficulties were being sorted out.
The players themselves had to figure out a way to keep calm under the circumstances. Birmingham senior defensive end Troy Hairston recalled back to the 2019 season opener when the game was delayed 108 minutes by weather.
"You have to adjust and play to those circumstances," Hairston said. "2020 has taught a lot of teams to play to your circumstance."
Especially during a shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic, players understanding controlling what they can control will start them on the path to success.
That includes issues on the field, off the field or a power outage.
"We went into the locker room and discussed things that were going to happen," said junior running back Kobe Lewis. "It's an awkward situation, but (McElwain) being the coach that he is, he coached us up when things don't go well or things don't go as planned."
About 14 minutes later, the stadium lights turned back on and began to shine on the turf. Just a few minutes after that, the players returned to the field.
When the 20-minute "halftime" was over, Ohio restarted with the ball at the CMU 10-yard line with 1:17 to play, facing a third and 6. After converting the first down, the Bobcats scored to tie the game at 20.
After the ensuing Chippewas' drive stalled around midfield, junior defensive end Amir Siddiq sacked Ohio redshirt-freshman quarterback Kurtis Rourke as the clock expired.
Immediately after the sack, CMU had to kick off to start the third quarter.
De'Montre Tuggle gave his team its first lead of the night with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
After that, CMU pitched a shutout in the second half on its way to a 30-27 win over Ohio in the season opener.
Power outage and all, the Chippewas never backed down from the challenge.
"Here's the good thing about this football team -- they don't blink," McElwain said. "When (the scoring plays) happened, they stayed positive, they stayed involved, that was huge."
