October 28, 2024 by Olivia Clemmensen(‘26)
On Friday Night, SSHS Homecoming game against Shaker High School was cut short about halfway through due to an alleged transformer failure on West Circular Street. First reported at 8:05 p.m., the power outage lasted around 40 minutes, leaving the entire game at a halting stop, with families shocked and a spirited student section confused and scared. “It was a little scary for a minute when the lights went out, but the energy of the student section was still pretty high” commented SSHS junior Claire Lizzi. Leave it up to the Toga Blue Streaks to keep the vibes going and the night alive while a stadium is dark! It wasn’t too dark for long however, because while all play was stopped, the student section took out their phone flashlights, and later comically “put the Yankees game on and so everybody was cheering for the Yankees while we were waiting for the lights to turn on” adds Lizzi.
While nearly “2,000 customers lost power on the western side of Saratoga Springs, [and] customers in the nearby towns of Milton and Ballston Spa were also affected” reports Channel 6 News, Saratoga High School was catching their breath and regrouping after losing 14-21 up until the black-out. SSHS Varsity football player August Martin shared that although the team was losing, “the momentum that the blue streaks had that night was huge, we had a chance of winning if the game had gone on”. 40 minutes later, the game was declared “over” and the second half was postponed, so everyone left the stadium, and human traffic ensued as SSHS students, football players, staff, and families not to mention all of Shaker’s supporters and teammates flooded out to get a ride home. The game was rescheduled and resumed on Saturday, but the SSHS team “didn’t score anymore points in the other half- the score ended up being 14-35″, Martin stated.
The fact that they lost may have been the team’s loss of steam after the day-long break from playing, or it was the lack of support from their fellow Blue Streaks that afternoon, leading them to a devastating loss against Shaker, taking away Toga’s chance of being 2nd in their section. Regardless of how the team played, their effort to support the Blue Streaks is always guaranteeably there.
Thank you, Saratoga police and school security, for keeping everyone calm and safe during the chaos of Friday’s night blackout, and to all Toga Students- Keep the Storm Alive!!