FINDLEY FALLS, IDAHO – The hopes of this local town's beloved high school football team's championship hopes rested on the feet of prized running back Justin Gelki.
Now that a nagging case of turf toe has sidelined the one-time, touted college prospect, fans are blaming a lack of prayers for his slow recovery and the team's continued struggles.
"People ain't praying enough," said ardent fan and local barbershop owner Lloyd Wessersmith. "If people would have really put some faith time into this, Justin would have been back for the rivalry game against Windam Lake."
Instead Findley Falls, without the fleet legs of Gelki, lost that game to the Bucktooths 69-2 and dropped to a dismal 0-3 on the season.
Rev. Bradley Booth, minister of Findley Falls First Methodist Church, said prayers have clearly been divided in the community since Hailey Jo Perkins, 7, was diagnosed with leukemia and Merlon Jenkins fell off his roof chasing a stray cat.
"Clearly, people are trying to incorporate all these items into their prayers and it's confusing God," Booth said. "Obviously, he doesn't know what we want."
That presumed confusion brought a resolution from the town board of elders last week banning all prayer requests except those relevant to the football team. Petitions for the cheerleading squad to master the grand pyramid are still allowed.
The family of sick, little Hailey Jo said they would temporarily support the ban.
"Hailey Jo's gonna be sick for a long time," said father Clyde Perkins. "If Justin doesn't return soon, this team will be finished by the first week in October. We can't be selfish. Hailey Jo loves that team."
God has had a history of solid results when the prayer message from the town is unclouded. They are repeating division champs and captured a state championship three years ago. In fact, the team hasn't missed the playoffs since 1996 – which many fans blamed on a tragic student bus crash days before the team was set to play in a crucial late-season game.
