Tygarts Valley Dash Struck by Lightning

By Don S. Sipe Last updated Aug 26, 2022

MILL CREEK, W.Va (WDTV) — If you thought strikes could only happen in sports like baseball, it seems they can happen in football, too.

Well, at least with dashboards and flashes.

The Tygarts Valley School bulletin board was struck by lightning a few weeks ago.

It is not known exactly when the dashboard was struck.

Tygarts Valley High School athletic director Amada Bell said it came as no surprise to her as the area had experienced several thunderstorms in recent weeks.

After noticing that it wouldn’t work on August 13, maintenance inspected it and delivered some news.

“When they came to work on it, they found that two circuit boards had been fried from an electric strike,” Bell said.

Bell said the school was working to replace it with a new one.

In the meantime, matches may need to be hand-timed by referees.

“I immediately found out that we could have football games and they were taking official time on the pitch with the officials,” she said. “And that wouldn’t stop us from having home games.”

Bell said she doesn’t think timing the game by hand will be difficult for the referees, the players or the crowd.

This is because the school already has several plans in place, including the purchase of an inflatable screen.

“We’re going to screen it from an internet program we found for the crowd. However, the officials have already been warned and they know that they will make it official on the ground. If time permits, of course we will do the spotlight,” she said. “If we can’t then what we’re going to do is we’re going to ask someone on the radio what the time is, what the official is saying from the field, in the press box so they can announce it so that at least the crowd can hear it.”

The county has just provided the school with new bleachers, and with the new board, the school is now receiving an additional upgrade.

“From talking to people in the community, the dashboard is almost 20 years old,” she said. “So, you know, it was very unfortunate and unexpected so close to the season, but we’re happy to be able to get a new one.”

The Tygarts Valley Bulldogs will play their first home game on September 2.