Football season started Thursday night with the Francis Marion-Ellwood Christian game at Memorial Stadium, but somebody forgot to check Mother Nature’s schedule.

Lightning delayed the scoreless game for two hours and rain left the field soaked and in unplayable condition. The game was postponed until Saturday at 12 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

“It is [frustrating] because the kids didn’t go to show what I wanted to see,” said Ellwood Christian head coach Trey Pike. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Pike was coaching his first game for the Eagles and badly wanted to finish the game Friday night, but officials ruled the playing field was not in good enough condition to resume.

Once it stopped raining, officials and coaches walked around the playing field for around 15 minutes prior to making a ruling. At that time, Francis Marion players were standing on the stadium’s track, ready to take the field if the field was ruled to be playable.

The worst of the conditions seemed to be on and near Ellwood’s sideline.

“I think 95 percent of the field is fine, personally,” Pike said. “You’ve got one spot. Let’s call it what it is.”

With rain showers in the forecast, the game kicked off at 7 p.m. Ellwood had the first opportunity to score after a Francis Marion punt from the Rams’ own 10-yard-line went only nine yards, but Eagles’ quarterback Achilles Rutledge fumbled on the second play of Ellwood’s possession.

Benard Lee recovered the fumble and returned it to the Ellwood 45-yard-line, but Marion was forced to punt after a three-and-out.

Ellwood Christian moved the ball again on its next possession by feeding the ball to running back Rayford Mitchell. Mitchell ran the ball nine times for 42 yards in just under a quarter of play and was on pace for a major workload.

The Eagles drive stalled at the Marion 31-yard-line after Rutledge’s third down pass was incomplete. Before Ellwood could make a decision about fourth down, the game was stopped due to lightning in the area. There was 1:36 remaining in the first quarter when that  decision was made at 7:27 p.m.

Rain didn’t start for a while later but once it did, the lightning kept coming.

Once storms left the area around 9:30 p.m., coaches and officials took the field to discuss whether the field was in good enough condition and when a makeup game could be played.

Francis Marion head coach Blake Thompson said he wanted to ensure his players were going to be safe if they retook the field Friday.

“I think it is a beautiful field but after an hour and a half of rain some things need some more thought to keep our student athletes in the forefront of our minds,” Thompson said.

Once it was ruled the game couldn’t resume Thursday, the discussion turned to when a makeup game could be played. According to Alabama High School Athletic Association rules, a makeup must be played on the next available day. Even with Selma and Southside scheduled for Friday evening at the stadium, Friday was deemed at the next possible day by school administrators.

Friday’s forecast calls for a chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, with a greater chance during the afternoon hours.