One second, there’s 1:42 left on the scoreboard.

The next second, you’re in total darkness.

Parents, faculty, and students stood confused as the entire football stadium went black on Sept. 1.

Minooka was playing Joliet Central, and the game was almost over when the lights went out.

The first response from the crowd was to hold up cell phone flashlights. The stands created enough light, fans joked, the game could have gone on. But the officials ended the game, with Minooka leading 42-0 and the mercy rule already in effect.

Mr. John Troy, assistant superintendent of business and general counsel, addressed the light issue at the Minooka District #111 Board of Education meeting on Sept. 7.

Troy said they had known there were bulbs burnt out of one of the poles and had called upon an electrician to assess the issue. They had thought they had everything fixed and would come back a few days later and finish some wiring. Everything seemed to be fine until suddenly, without warning, the field went dark. There were some screams, but no one was in a panic.

“When the stadium went dark at first I thought it was a joke,” Noah Loizon, freshman, said. “But then the lights didn’t come back on, and I was really confused.”

In seconds, the stands began glowing. Parents, students, and faculty used their phones to see what was going on.

“I was very impressed with the way everything went; people were very calm and respectful,” Mr. Mike Brozovich, board president, said.

This pole happened to have different wiring than any of the other poles, and the wiring in the particular pole overheated, causing the power to go out. The lights have all been tested and left on for hours at a time to test and make sure the electrical issue was no longer a problem.

Although the problem has since been resolved, faculty members working at the game receive a flashlight, and the press box and field have bullhorns to communicate if anything happens again.