A night of healing in Iowa

PARKERSBURG, Iowa – They filled the bleachers. They sat on grass hills. They leaned against the fence that rings the field.

The folks in this small farming community turned out in full force Friday in what felt like a night of healing for a town leveled by a deadly tornado in 2008 and devastated again two months ago when its beloved high school football coach was murdered.

Under the glare of ESPN’s cameras and a national TV audience, the Falcons of Aplington-Parkersburg High School beat longtime rival Dike-New Hartford 30-14 in the Falcons’ first game since coach Ed Thomas was gunned down by a former player.

“I’d hope he’s proud of us,” said Alex Hornbuckle, a senior who rushed for three touchdowns and intercepted a pass. “I hope he’s proud that we came out and gave it our all and did everything we could to win.”

Friday night was like so many others Parkersburg savored during the 34 years Thomas coached here and led the school to two state championships. But in other ways, it couldn’t have been any different in the middle of cornfield country for the Falcons of A-P, as they refer to the school.

Before the game, more than 200 former players formed a tunnel through which the current team filed onto the field named after Thomas. The player at the front of one side of that tunnel was Dave Becker, one of Thomas’ first team captains and the father of the Mark Becker, the former Falcon who on June 24 gunned down A-P’s legendary coach.

One of the players who ran through the tunnel was Scott Becker, a starting offensive lineman and the younger brother of the killer who intends to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Jan Thomas, the coach’s wife, sat in the bleachers near Joan Becker, mother of the man facing first-degree murder charges – just like they do at First Congregational Church where the families have worshiped together for more than 30 years.

Jon Thompson, the school superintendent, might as well have been speaking for the entire town of 1,800 before kickoff when he addressed the crowd.

“We lost a great man this summer,” he said. “Ed Thomas taught us if you work hard and work together you can accomplish great things.”

Then heads bowed as the overflow crowd observed a moment of silence for the slain coach. But that was the last of the silence.

“Go, Big Red,” the cheerleaders yelled, and the Falcons, in their red helmets, red jerseys and red pants were on the go. They scored the game’s first 30 points, and after each touchdown the cheerleaders threw A-P football T-shirts and miniature red footballs to the cheering fans in the bleachers.

The only thing that stopped the Falcons was halftime. During the intermission, school officials raffled off helmets signed by the four former A-P players now in the NFL. Later the crowd stood quietly during a rendition of “Amazing Grace” performed by the marching band at a school with an enrollment of 240.

Ten of the 25 band members are football players – not counting the tuba player, an injured lineman.

“God is still at this school,” said Sandi Miller, mother of senior wingback Ethan Miller, as she listened to the last strains of the song.

How sweet it was, the Falcons retaking the field to more roars. By the fourth quarter, with a 30-0 lead, they had to endure only a modest comeback attempt by their longtime rivals and the steadily dipping temperatures.

As the final seconds ticked off the game clock, the fans stood one last time and applauded. Not to yell and scream, but applaud, as if the moment warranted a certain dignity.

After shaking hands with the Dike players, the Falcons headed for the west end zone and huddled around Al Kerns, a longtime assistant under Ed Thomas who has taken over as co-head coach.

“Fellas, it’s been a long journey to get to this spot right now,” he said. “… What you did, to get up off the ground and win this football game tonight, I want to thank you. It means a lot. It means a lot to us as coaches, it means a lot to our community and I hope to the whole state of Iowa.”

He told them to remove their helmets.

“Close your eyes and listen,” he said.

An ethereal silence enveloped a football team. On a night of remembrance and celebration, it was a beautiful sound.