By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
GEORGETOWN— Mother Nature complicated the Rivera Raiders’ plans to play in a Class 6A semifinal Friday at the UIL state soccer tournament at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.
There were five games scheduled Friday at the state tournament, with the Raiders set to play the North Mesquite Stallionsin the last one.
The extended length of the day’s earlier two games involving girls teams didn’t help matters before rain started falling and lightning appeared in the late afternoon. That prompted officials to halt the action, send teams to the locker room and clear the stands.
Weather delays due to lightning happened during each of the two boys games prior to Rivera’s match, which originally had been scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
“There is not much we can do about it,” said Rivera coach Salvador Garcia, whose team did its best to stay upbeat and dry at the stadium while waiting its turn to play.
By 9 p.m., the Raiders were nowhere close to getting on the field to play, and at that point, it appeared questionable if Rivera’s match would even take place Friday.
But the game began after 10 p.m.
Friday’s third game, the Class 4A boys final between San Elizario and Liberty Hill, was finally completed despite weather delays with San Elizario eventually winning 4-2.
The first 6A boys semifinal between Arlington Sam Houston and Katy Cinco Ranch was halted several times, including for an extended period of time with 17:13 left in the first half. Cinco Ranch scored seven minutes into the match and was up 1-0 when the game was stopped with 17:13 showing on the scoreboard.
Cinco Ranch ended up with a 2-1 victory.