The tornado that ripped through Northwood, N.D., on Sunday night will have little affect on the town's fall high school sports schedules, Hatton-Northwood athletic director John Hutchison said Tuesday.
"We're actually doing pretty well," Hutchison said. "We want to do the most we can to get the students back to a normal routine. It is important for us to get them their season."
Hutchison said the Hatton-Northwood football team will play its scheduled game at 7 p.m. on Friday in LaMoure.
The team took Monday off before resuming practice Tuesday at Hatton High School, Northwood's cooperative partner in athletics. Hatton is about 13 miles southwest of Northwood.
Hutchison said he is amazed at how well the football field in Northwood held up against the tornado's 150 mph winds.
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"If we needed a game (in Northwood), we could have a game," Hutchison said. "It's really just a lot of debris. The scoreboard didn't go down. I really expected to see it lying on the ground."
The football team, however, had already been scheduled to play its home games in Hatton this season as part of their cooperative agreement. Hatton and Northwood rotate hosting duties yearly for athletics events.
Before the tornado hit, the football team was using both high school facilities for practice. The team will now practice in Hatton until the debris is cleared from the Northwood field. Football coach Justin Foss was at the Northwood school Tuesday removing equipment from the locker rooms.
Foss said it crossed his mind to cancel Friday's game with LaMoure, but he thought the students would want to play.
"It will be good for the kids. Maybe a football game can bring the community together," Foss said.
Due to severe damage to the Northwood gymnasium, the Hatton-Northwood volleyball team will host its match against Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday instead of 5 p.m. to accommodate the program's five competitive teams.
Hutchison said Hatton and Northwood, which field 7th grade, 8th grade, C-squad, junior varsity and varsity teams, normally share hosting duties.
The volleyball teams will likely not play in Northwood at all this season, Hutchison said.
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"We're looking at three months at least to get the gym repaired," Hutchison said. "We hope we can get in there for basketball."
Hatton-Northwood's only cancellation so far is Thursday's cross country meet at Northwood Golf Course.
The Hatton-Northwood school board has not yet decided where to send Northwood's 135 students in grades 7-12 for daily classes.
Hutchison said he has talked with many student-athletes who want to return to the field as soon as possible.
"Activities are still very important," Hutchison said.
Hatton-Northwood
Remaining football schedule
Date Opponent Time
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Friday at LaMoure 7
Sept. 7 Linton-HMB 7
Sept. 14 at May-Port-CG 7
Sept. 21 Larimore 7
Sept. 28 at Langdon 7
Oct. 5 at Cavalier 7
Oct. 12 Park River 7
Note: The Class 1A program plays its home games at either Hatton High School or at Northwood High School, switching locations each year. This year, the program plays its games
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at Hatton, as scheduled.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562.
Hotzler's small college blog can be found at www.areavoices.com
Forum reporter Amy Dalrymple contributed to this report
