VIDOR, Texas — The 409 came together to help a Southeast Texas family in need before battling it out on the soccer field.
The Vidor High School girl's soccer team faced off the Hardin-Jefferson High School girl's soccer team Tuesday evening.
Coach Ralph Fields from Vidor organized a gift basket for all the girls to pitch in to and present it to Hardin-Jefferson player McKinlee Paschal, whose family lost their home after a tornado ripped through it late January.
"I just talked to the team and said, look, we're going to do something for them, because most of my kids lost their house or experienced some kind of devastating loss with Harvey a few years ago, so I figured they could relate," Fields said.
Before the game, their teams came together to rally around Paschal.
"McKinlee is an awesome person. She is a very kind and very caring person. She always puts others in front of her own personal needs," said Coach Cara Robinson from Hardin-Jefferson.
The tornado shattered McKinlees' home and ruined her families' cars.
"As soon as I ran in the bathroom it hit and my roof blew off and things went everywhere, glass everywhere I was scared didn't know what to do next really," Paschal said.
Coach Fields eventually got word about what happened to McKinlee's home and decided to put the rivalry aside and help her and her family by organizing a fundraiser.
"I didn't expect it to spread as much as it did. I knew my friends were going to, but I didn't expect for 409 like involved as much as they were," Paschal said.
Officials with the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 and an EF-2 tornado touched down in Orange County on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
The wind speeds in the EF-1 tornado near Bridge City were estimated to be 100 mph. The tornado near Orangefield had wind speeds of 120 mph.
The severe storms left thousands without power and brought serious damage to part of the county. During the peak of the storm, more than 17,000 residents were left without power.
A 12News crew in the area saw the aftermath which included downed power lines, downed signs, and a tipped over an 18-wheeler on Highway 62 and Interstate 10 in Orange.
