PARKERSBURG — For the next three hours, nothing else mattered.

Not the cold and rainy weather, not the construction plans or lingering insurance claims, and not even the hundreds of acres of drastically altered landscape that lay across the area. For the next three hours, the Parkersburg community got the chance to feel whole again. After months of hard work, the Friday night lights at Ed Thomas Stadium proudly shone once again across the plains surrounding this northern Iowa town.

On May 25, an EF-5 tornado ravaged the town of around 1,900, killing six and wiping out dozens of businesses, an estimated 350 homes, as well as a large portion of Aplington-Parkersburg High School and its football stadium, the heart and soul of the community. And for the last 104 days, helping hands and donations have been pouring into the community from every corner of the state, tallying endless man hours in an attempt to reconstruct the hundreds of buildings that were destroyed by a tornado that lasted just 34 seconds.

The list of chores was long, but the citizens of Parkersburg had one goal in mind: To be ready for Sept. 5, when the Falcon football team was scheduled to make its 2008 debut on the hallowed grounds that the town refers to as the ‘Sacred Acre’.

“This was huge, because we got to see something rebuilt here,” said football coach Ed Thomas. “It was a chance for our people to come, not think about rebuilding, and to just concentrate on football, because Friday nights are something special here.”

Members of the community were united again to savor every touchdown, every big hit, and every nail-biting third and short. They had the chance to belt out the school fight song and proudly wear their school colors as they cheered on the young heroes of their community in something that was ultimately more than just a football game. It was a symbol. A symbol of the amazing things people can accomplish when you combine patience, dedication and an overflow of good old human kindness.

Within the first week after the storm Parkersburg was inundated with hordes of businesses and families seeking to aid Iowans in need. The tremendous amount of support Parkersburg received allowed the town to not only start rebuilding homes and businesses, but, thanks to generous donations from businesses around the state and beyond, the town got the chance to see their beloved Falcons take the football field once again. Everything from the lights to the field paint, bleachers and the locker rooms were fully donated to the school and constructed in the past three months.

“I can’t say enough about the outpouring of Iowans who saw this devastation and took the time to be here,” said A-P principal Dave Meyer. “When things like this happen, it shows that this is a special place and a great state to live in, and the people here rose to the occasion. And for us, we wouldn’t have been able to have tonight if we wouldn’t have had that kindness from the people across Iowa.”

At the southwest corner of the new stadium, a battered and beaten sign still stands tall above the team’s entrance to the field, a representation of the resilience that has run deep in the community since the disaster. “FALCON COUNTRY,” it reads, a symbol of the town’s pride. The sign is one of the few pieces left from a massive heap of rubble that was left on the field in late May.

As the Falcons marched underneath the sign on their way into the stadium, the players stood hand-in-hand, united together behind the legendary Coach Thomas, who was one of several to lose their homes in the worst tornado to hit the state in 32 years. The excitement was palpable as the PA announcer’s booming voice reverberated through the stadium as he cried “Here come the Falcons,” resulting in a raucous uproar from the Falcon faithful as their team sprinted onto the turf.

Aplington-Parkersburg has always enjoyed a proud football tradition, including Class 1A crowns in 1993 and 2001, as well as runner-up finishes in 1980, 1990, and 2000. The program also has four former players that currently find work in the NFL.  

The Falcons, currently ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, wasted no time in returning to championship form as they scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the game with drives of 67, 78 and 93 yards. A-P took a 21-12 lead into the locker room at halftime and finished the game in dominating fashion, by running away with a 53-20 dismantling of the West Marshall Trojans.

But as the stands cleared, and fireworks rocketed into the sky above the field in celebration, the 33-point difference on the scoreboard still wasn’t the most important part of the evening.

Victory or not, things were starting to return to normal in Parkersburg.

“I can’t put into words what this meant to me,” Thomas said. “This is the greatest experience I’ve ever had coaching. I think this shows that character of our young people — to get back up off the ground through adversity and rebuild. It was just a humbling experience and something I know our kids, our community and our coaches will never forget.”