Community wins at Seahawks game

The boxes were segregated by food group or type of container — boxes of pasta here, jars of spaghetti sauce over there. Canned goods in the tall box.

Peanut butter and jelly, check. Plates and utensils, check. Bottles of water, check.

But there was no place for Deke Summers to put his contributions. His grocery bag contained two large boxes of dog treats.

“I've always had dogs,” the Belfair resident said. “I figure if people need food, they might need to take care of their pets, too.”

A pair of Hilton Head Island High students quickly grabbed an empty box. Pet food, check.

And so it went Friday night. Seahawk Strong, even if the numbers weren’t exactly overwhelming.

Even with free admission, there wasn’t a line to get into The Nest as kickoff neared for the Seahawks to take on R.B. Stall. But there was a steady stream, most everyone carrying a bag of canned goods or other nonperishables for Hurricane Matthew victims.

“It's more crowded than it usually is,” said Jackson Tomaszewski, president of the school’s Beta Club, which takes the lead in many community service projects. “Most of the students show up closer to kickoff.”

Or later. It’s the Lowcountry, after all. Late-arriving crowds are fashionable.

Dubbed “Seahawk Strong Night,” the contest offered a chance for residents numbed by days upon days of hurricane cleanup a chance to get out. Watch a little football, grab a burger, take a few hours to give your mind a rest.

Foodstuffs were collected for the Deep Well Project, a Hilton Head Island pantry that will keep all contributions in the community. Fans also could drop cash or a check into collection boxes at the entrance to The Nest.

And though the stadium came nowhere close to filling to its 7,000 capacity, the center section of the home stands was well populated by the middle of the second quarter. For some, it was their first time to see a Seahawks game.

“We hardly ever come,” said Lois Miller, who, with her husband, John, walked in with three bags of goods from The Seabrook retirement community. “As soon as I saw this in the paper — come to the game, fill the stadium — I told our activities director.”

The three bags represented the short-notice contributions of the community’s residents.

Even the Stall Warriors, whose own territory in Charleston was hit by Matthew, brought two bins full of good. “I had to take my golf cart over and fill it up to take it over to the truck,” said Seahawks athetics director Joe Monmonier.

It’s been a week unlike any other, on the island or at the school. While many islanders continue to dig out from Hurricane Matthew’s wrath, students returned to campus to try and focus on books and tests. And even football.

“You could tell everybody was humbled by this,” Tomaszewski said. “Everybody was not as riled up, a little calmer. It hit everybody pretty hard in one way or another. It made us more grateful for what we have, more respectful of each other.”

Even the football team took the field with just two practices under its belt, spending other afternoons in the community to help friends and neighbors. The goodwill certainly hasn't gone unnoticed.

“There are a number of emails I’ve gotten,” Seahawks coach B.J. Payne said, “from people that said, ‘I haven’t been to a game here, but because of what you guys are doing in the community, we're coming to the game Friday night.”

One of those was Summers, himself a retired football coach from Virginia — he was an Andrew Lewis High assistant on the other sideline in the state championship depicted in the movie “Remember the Titans.”

“I don't know what Deep Well is,” he admitted, “but I know if Hilton Head Island High is giving up its gate receipts for this, it’s well worth supporting.”

The Seahawks will take something of a financial hit by opening the gates. Between operational costs, paying for security and officials and lost gate receipts, Monmonier estimated the cost would top $8,000. But the bigger picture made the price tag a small point.

“I just felt the community needs something,” Monmonier said. “We don’t have a legacy here. A lot of people are transplants, so their parents or grandparents didn’t go here. Even as an island, we have so many different communities. We’re just trying to bring them all together.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 9:26 PM with the headline "Community wins at Seahawks game."