Football season openers are supposed to start off with a bang. For Cape Coral and Riverdale, Friday’s preseason scrimmage did just that.

An hour before the 7:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff at Cape High’s Dave Warkentin Field, the skies filled with bangs-lightning and thunder to be exact – and the wait was on.

The Raiders and Seahawks will try again to play at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The administration at Cape High traditionally puts on a barbecue for its faculty and staff before the opening football game in the fall. The grilling and serving crew were out in full force, and the tables were ready for seating. Unfortunately, only a small portion of the staff got to enjoy the dinner before the lightning and thunder were accompanied by heavy rain.

The first call of inclement weather came at 6:30 p.m. Players and coaches watched for a break in the clouds, but none came.

Each high school has equipment to detect lightning in the area. Rules state that if any lightning strikes within range of the field, those strikes must have ceased for 30 minutes before play can begin or resume. At Cape, the lightning and thunderstorm never ceased.

Both school principals and athletic directors were in conference with the game officials before the decision was made at 7:45 p.m. to postpone the game.

“Besides the lightning, the field is all underwater,” said Cape High principal Eric McFee. “It wouldn’t be wise. We don’t want players going out there and getting hurt in those conditions.”

The hope is that some sun during the day Saturday will dry out the field by kickoff.