Hurricane Ian recovery: Arcadia community comes together to help DeSoto County Bulldogs return to football field
ARCADIA, Fla. — Flooded streets, down power lines, homes ravaged.
That was the scene for many people throughout DeSoto County when Hurricane Ian plowed its way through southwest Florida and through the state. When it came to high school football, that became a distant thought with all of the devastation caused by the storm.
DeSoto County High School’s football stadium suffered significant damage from Hurricane Ian
Photo courtesy of Sam Holland
When the Bulldogs got the okay from DeSoto County superintendent Bobby Bennett that they could practice, head coach/athletic director Sam Holland said his team was filled with excitement to return to play.
“To be able to play was amazing, the days after the storms our players were calling me and asking if we were going to practice or be able to play,” Holland said. “Most them asked if our season would be canceled. So when we finally got word from our Superintendent Dr. Bennett that we could practice and play they were extremely excited.”
The stadium lights at DeSoto County High School had to be replaced
Photo courtesy of Sam Holland
In just a couple weeks time, DeSoto County High School was able to get their football team back onto the field with overflowing community support. From getting the stadium back up and running to providing portable lights to a crane to hang the flag up because of the flag pole being blown down, support came from everywhere.
The Bulldogs even received assistance from Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who helped bring in a light crew to install new stadium lights. DeSoto County was able to get back on the field last Friday against Sarasota Booker, which provided a sign that the city of Arcadia was getting back to some kind of normalcy.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis assisted getting lights install at DeSoto County High School
Photo by Adam Fisher
“The community was every bit as excited as we were,” Holland said. “Former players and fans called and offered to do anything they could to help. We had groups feed us and offer their support. The construction company brought in portable lights and cleaned up everything around the stadium so we could have a safe place to play. Governor (Ron) DeSantis helped get a light crew in and they put 23 new LED lights up in our stadium.”
The return to the field of play was a joyous and exciting one for the Bulldogs, who had been enjoying an already successful season so far. Off to a strong 4-1 start to the campaign, DeSoto County figures to be in contention for the Class 2A-Suburban, District 15 championship with the likes of Lemon Bay, Sarasota Booker and Bayshore.
DeSoto County was able to come away victorious 15-7 over the Tornadoes and improve to 5-1 on the season l, but the win wasn’t just one the Bulldogs were able to get on the field. It was a victory they were able to get off of it as well. Overcoming the odds of possibly having to end the season to bringing a community together after a natural disaster brought an already closer school that much tighter knit.
The community Arcadia came together to cleanup the city and DeSoto County High School
Photo courtesy of Sam Holland
“I was surprised with how poised our guys were going into the game, they were very excited but were extremely focused also, Holland added. “It was a huge boost for our community to win, this is an amazing place with a lot of pride in this school, so for a few hours we got back to normal and enjoyed a tremendous opportunity to feel good again.”
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.
