Weather wipes out Sertoma

Friday's high school football games in the Muhler Sertoma Classic were canceled because of the weather. The games will not be rescheduled.

Sertoma Club officials said the field at Johnson Hagood Stadium could not handle another night of games. Thursday's games were played despite torrential rain associated with Tropical Storm Fay.

There will be no ticket refunds, Sertoma spokesman John Panagiotou said. The proceeds from the event go to various charities and the high schools involved.

Ticket stubs from Thursday night's games and unused tickets from Friday will be honored at The Citadel's season opener against Webber International next weekend.

"Unfortunately, due to the amount and duration of rain, tonight's Sertoma Classic has been canceled," Panagiotou said Friday. "The Citadel has been wonderful to work with and they tried to do everything possible to make the games take place tonight, but the field would not be able to take another seven games under these conditions. We appreciate and thank The Citadel for its great support and help of the Sertoma Classic."

Bishop England was scheduled to play Wando during the second day of Sertoma, and is scheduled to begin its regular season today at Ben Lippen.

"We really liked the matchup against Wando," first-year coach John Cantey said. "It's becoming a big rivalry, and the students get dressed up, they paint themselves and get all excited. They're going to be disappointed. As a coach, I was worried about playing a team like Wando one day and then having to get ready for Ben Lippen the next. I was worried about being able to refocus. So that makes it easier on the team. But the students will be disappointed when they hear the announcement."

Hanahan's regular season opener against Columbia was rained out. The game has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. today at Hanahan.

Reach Philip M. Bowman at pbowman@postandcourier.com or at 937-5592.