Rain, thunder and lightning could not ruin a weekend of high school football in Orange County

Segerstrom football players get fired up before Saturday’s makeup game. (Photo courtesy Mark Bausman).

Rain, lightning and thunder postponed football games throughout Orange County on one wild Friday night.

But it couldn’t dampen the spirits of many football players, coaches and fans who showed up the next day during make-up games. There weren’t as many fans on hand Saturday, but they were there, rooting their teams on as usual.

All around Orange County, games were postponed on Friday and players and coaches had to adjust. School officials had to scramble to get personnel to work their games. At University High, players from last year’s football team capably handled the announcing and the scoreboard in the press box and fans were not charged to attend.

University football coach Scott Meyer said he’s never seen a football game postponed for weather in 30 years.

The weather was a topic of conversation on Saturday too.

“It was tough, just sitting around, guys getting cold and anxious,” said Irvine quarterback Marc Filia after he led Irvine to a 29-12 victory over University by throwing three TD passes. “We had a feeling the game was going to get called. There was a lot of lightning and stuff we couldn’t control. We tried to stay focused. When the coach came in and said the game was cancelled, a lot of guys were upset but we knew we had to come out and be ready for tomorrow.”

“We thought we were going to play,” said Segerstrom quarterback Angel Vega after he threw five touchdowns Saturday in a 59-13 victory over Marina. “We didn’t think the lighting or thunder was going to stop the game. But it did and we’re here and we finished the game.”

The weather also had a big impact in South County. Laguna Hills and Trabuco Hills rescheduled their game on Saturday. Laguna Hills won its second league game in a row, 49-13.

“It was a strange series of events: we went through warm-ups on Friday night, were walking onto the field and the game was suspended for 30 minutes for lightning,” said Laguna Hills Coach Mike Maceranka. “The coaches and administration got together and decided to reschedule the game if the lightening continued after 7:45. It did, then we agreed to play Saturday at 1 p.m.”

One coach expressed his appreciation to those who helped on Saturday.

“I’m just happy the guys got to play,” Santa Ana Coach Charlie TeGantvoort told Fernando M. Donado after the Saints beat Saddleback 45-0 on Saturday at Santa Ana Valley.

“It was kind of disappointing yesterday when we had to cancel the game due to lightning because of safety concerns and I’m appreciative of the people who made sacrifices both on our part and Saddleback’s part. I know both athletic directors made sacrifices to make sure this game happened tonight. It’s great the kids get to play in the game they worked so hard for.”

RAIN AND LIGHTNING CAUSED HAVOC WITH OC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com