— By Taylor Kennedy
ELKVIEW, W.Va. — Five years have passed since the Elkview community was hit by once-in-a-lifetime flooding from the Elk River.
The 2016 floods claimed 23 lives, while also destroying hundreds of properties.
Among things hit hardest by the flood were the football facilities at Herbert Hoover High School. The rushing waters destroyed the football team’s field, uniforms, equipment and more.
Timothy Meyer, who spent 11 years as the Huskies’ head coach in football, recalls an outpouring of love and support from a plethora of schools across West Virginia.
“It was a great feeling,” Meyer said. “All of these people within and outside of our community were willing to come in and help us.
“All of these groups that came in and helped us out, donating equipment and clean up, was special seeing that happen. It gave a good feeling knowing all of these people were out there willing to help.”
Meyer remained optimistic about returning to the gridiron that fall, but the thought of playing home games lingered since the field was damaged.
“I never once thought we weren’t going to have a season,” Meyer said. “My initial thought was that we weren’t going to be able to play games here. We are going to have to travel and it might be nothing but away games the entire season. It was the type of effort that the community and Kanawha County Schools put out to get that field house cleaned up. We did not miss a single home game, which was a great feeling.
“It was a rallying point. It was something for people to focus on during such a terrible tragedy.”
Due to the high school field being destroyed, the Huskies played their five home games at Elkview Middle School and finished 3-2.
Herbert Hoover compiled a 7-3 record that 2016 season, which earned the Huskies a spot in the state playoffs nearly five months after the flood.
“We had a great grouping of young men that were fighters,” Meyer stated. “They were not the kind of guys that would hang their heads. They stood up and worked their tails off. They had a great season.”
A core of players from that 2016 team had played the season before when the Huskies clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2010.
“They definitely bonded,” Meyer said. “There were great relationships with those kids. They had it really tough. Not only did they not have a school, but they did not have a place to practice and some did not have any homes.”
With the football field house completely destroyed, players were responsible for hauling their gear to practices. For away games, one of the Huskies’ coaches would transport the gear and equipment in a trailer.
Meyer also saw great resiliency from the community, which came together during a troubling time and wore its colors amid tragedy.
“Our community is not the type to lay down and take it,” Meyer said. “They are going to step up and better themselves. They are a great group of people and community to be a part of.”
Joey Fields, entering his second season as the Huskies’ head coach, has seen similar traits in the early stages of his tenure at Hoover.
“It is a true community,” Fields said. “Their support flowing out of this school building and into the community, you can feel it. You can feel it every day. That does not happen everywhere. It is not an easy thing to grasp. I don’t know if everyone even realizes they have it, but it is happening. It is a great thing to be a part of.”