It was a Category 4 hurricanewhen it reached U.S. soil and had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it hit the Tar Heel State, but still ravaged the region, from Bat Cave to Boone, Canton to Chimney Rock, Asheville to Avery County. Dams broke, buildings and homes were washed away, people died, and lives were changed forever.
The death toll from Helene has topped 200, making it the deadliest storm since Katrina. The long road to recovery for western North Carolina is just beginning.
On Saturday, through football, Appalachian State University tried to restore some sense of normalcy to its community. For the first time since Helene’s impact was felt, the Mountaineers played a game – away at Marshall, nestled in Huntington, West Virginia.
According to some reports online, it seems that App State’s marching band was unable to make the trip.
And so, in sign of support and solidarity, Marshall’s band classily played their opponents’ fight song.
Separated by a drive of less than five hours, Marshall and App State both call Appalachia home. They’re old rivals who played every season from 1977 to 1997 and have since renewed it now that both are in the Sun Belt conference.
And both communities now know the pain of a tragic disaster. The Herd had to rebuild their football program after many of its players, coaches and boosters were killed in a plane crash in 1970.
Marshall won on Saturday 52-37, but as App State coach Shawn Clark said before the game, what’s on the scoreboard really doesn’t matter right now.
“We’re very fortunate that we get to play this game of football that we love. Football is important, but it’s not the most important thing right now. The most important thing is our community, our county. Our county has a lot of pride in App State Football and App State Athletics, so we want to make sure we go out and represent the best way we know how.”
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