App State cancels football game against Liberty in North Carolina after Helene causes flooding

Appalachian State's home football game against Liberty in Boone, North Carolina, scheduled for Saturday was canceled because of the impacts of severe weather on the area from Tropical Storm Helene, the school announced Friday.

Heavy rain in the North Carolina mountains brought flooding to Boone and the town was placed under a state of emergency Thursday.

The nonconference game was scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff and will not be rescheduled, the school said.

App State also canceled a home field hockey game against Bellarmine that was slated for Friday.

Also in North Carolina, the East Tennessee State football team was unable to finish its trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for its game against The Citadel, which was scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., because of flash flooding.

“The team is safe and will spend the night in North Carolina,” ETSU athletic director Richard Sander said in a statement. “They will resume travel when the interstate reopens.”

Helene made landfall late Thursday in a sparsely populated region of Florida with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph). But the damage extended hundreds of miles to the north.

Elsewhere, the Nashville Predators postponed their home preseason NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning scheduled for Friday night. The game was rescheduled for Oct. 7.

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The Associated Press