Florida High practices, travels to Perry to help residents clean up debris after hurricane
Taylor County High football senior Madden Metcalf saw the destruction happening firsthand from inside his Perry home as Hurricane Idalia stormed ashore the Big Bend region Wednesday morning.
"I couldn't believe it, trees splitting and (debris) flying around," Metcalf said
Ashton Hampton and his Florida High teammates saw the destruction firsthand 24 hours later as they arrived in Perry Thursday to help residents clean up debris from the high-end Category 3 hurricane.
"It was wild, there were trees everywhere you looked; it was a pretty humbling experience," Hampton said.
While Taylor County and Florida High football have been longtime rivals, that didn't stop the Seminoles from helping their neighbors.
Coach Jarrod Hickman and nearly 50 players boarded a yellow school bus and traveled the 50-plus miles southwest on U.S. Highway 19 to Perry after the Seminoles practiced Thursday afternoon.
Players delivered bottled water to a local church and then collected tree limbs and debris at homes for more than two hours.
"We didn't have a plan - we just wanted to help," said Hickman, whose 2018 team traveled to Marianna for clean-up duty after Hurricane Michael tore through Jackson County. "It wasn't anything fancy. We were there to help and offer our support. You see and hear about it (destruction), but until you see it firsthand. ...
"It's overwhelming."
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Tallahassee manages to escape widespread destruction
Tallahassee was spared significant damage from the Hurricane. Leon County schools reopened Friday after being closed two days and prep football games were scheduled to be played Friday evening.
While Florida High was set to meet visiting Ponte Vedra, Taylor County is unsure when it will resume school and football.
The school's football stadium and athletics fields were damaged by the storm.
Taylor County coach Eddie Metcalf and his family, including son Madden, remained at their home in southeast Perry as Hurricane Idalia made landfall 21 miles away with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph southwest at Keaton Beach.
It was the first major hurricane to enter Apalachee Bay since modern record-keeping started in 1851, according to the National Weather Service.
Metcalf said he felt safe in his home, but the hurricane left Metcalf's yard and neighborhood littered with snapped and fallen trees, power poles and other debris that blocked access in and out of the area.
"We were lucky and we're safe," Metcalf said.
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Metcalf, 56, neighbors and others worked together Thursday to cut and remove trees, including one that hit the side of Metcalf's brick home. Metcalf said electrical power to his home could be out for as long as three weeks.
"We might have six power poles still standing in the whole subdivision," Metcalf said.
Metcalf said his players and staff were accounted for and safe, adding with a good-natured laugh "that most got out of town, they were smarter than me." He also appreciated the calls and support from the football community, including former Chiles coach Kevin Pettis and Hickman.
Florida High and Taylor County were scheduled to play in Taylor County next week.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida High football helps Perry residents pick up debris after hurricane
