An electrical fire caused heavy smoke damage to the Simon Kenton High School Cook-Wagner Athletic Fieldhouse before midnight Wednesday, threatening to cancel the school's traditional senior night game.

The game, however, against Bullitt Central High School in Shepherdsville, will start on time at 7 p.m. Friday because Northern Kentucky school districts donated helmets and shoulder pads that could not be replaced for tonight's game, said Jess Dykes, director of public information and community engagement for the Kenton County School District.

Superintendents from ten schools were willing to donate equipment "so our kids could take the field and play," said Dykes.

Simon Kenton will be the team wearing helmets from Dixie Heights, Scott, Walton-Verona, Campbell County, Boone County, Conner, Lloyd, Covington Catholic, Beechwood and Homes high schools. Bullitt Central will be in the matching uniforms.

Insurance adjusters are on the scene Friday along with crews removing heavy soot from equipment in the weight room and indoor turf area in the facility that was built in 2010, said Dykes."We got really lucky as the fire doors did their job, so it was mostly smoke damage."

According to head football coach Jeff Marksberry, the fire was believed to have started before midnight and was discovered by a maintenance crew who called emergency responders. No one was injured.

Sergeant Russ Wood of the Independence Police Department said emergency personnel responded to the fire at the fieldhouse, but the extent of the damage was still unknown.

Marksberry was informed of the fire around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

"I did not at that time understand the scope of what damage had been done to our facility," said Marksberry."I was pretty floored by how it looked."

Despite the mess, Marksberry found a bit of optimism as he began to sift through the rubble. Light from his cell phone landed on a picture, entitled "Forged by Fire", sat in the middle of the locker room floor completely undamaged.

Part of the Pioneer tradition is to hold a bonfire each year.Football players take turns tossing items into the fire as a symbolic gesture, commemorating their dedication, hard work and commitment to the team.Ashes are saved to start the fire anew the following year."Forged by Fire" was a picture of the first bonfire ever held and was one of only a few items left untouched.

"It was ironic," said Marksberry, who has been with the program for 17 years and head coach since 2000."It's kind of an esoteric thing and it's something that our kids get to do that no one else is invited to."

Some say it was a sign — a sign that despite this hardship, the team will go on.It's not the first time the school has weathered a tragedy.

When Simon Kenton suffered a boiler room explosion on Oct. 9, 1980, killing one student, the school endured.The boys varsity basketball team went on to win a state championship that school year.

Marksberry immediately contacted area coaches to see if they could help outfit his football team, since equipment and personal items were destroyed.

"It's a pretty tight fraternity, the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association is a really good association," Marksberry said. "It's one of the best, if not the best in the state, and we had several coaches come through, several area athletic directors come through, and offer things that they had in their equipment room."

In a matter of hours, 90 Simon Kenton players were outfitted in equipment and practice began at 6 p.m. Thursday. Marksberry credits his staff for working diligently to get things back on track.

Zac Stone, a junior who sported a Holmes Bulldogs helmet, said he couldn't believe the quick response.

"It just blew my mind today when I came to practice and there were already shoulder pads and helmets in the bed of trucks," Stone said.

He heard rumors of the fire during third period on Thursday and his fears were confirmed when Marksberry called all the players to a 2 p.m. meeting during school.

"I'm just thankful for all the teams that bonded together and came through for us, friend or foes they were willing to help us out and that's more touching than anything," Stone said.

It might look funny having multiple teams represented on the field, but Jim and Mary Stone, Zac's parents, say it's representative of the community-wide support for Simon Kenton.

"We're going to look like a giant bag of Skittles on the field tomorrow night with all the helmet colors we have, but we're going to play our football game," Marksberry said as the 8-1 Pioneers take on the 8-0 Bullitt Central High School Cougars from Shepherdsville. The undefeated Cougars are the No. 3 ranked team in Class 5A.

Jim Stone, whose older son also played for the team before he graduated, said he tries not to look at the negative and feels this might be a good life lesson for the players.

"With, I don't know eight, nine, 10 different helmets of all the different schools, that's going to tell the whole story of everybody who helped them out," Jim Stone said."They're always taught to play like a team, pull together, back each other up and that's exactly what all these other schools, these other teams are doing for them right now."

Marksberry said insurance should cover the damages, but they are still sifting through items and he has no idea how much repairs will cost.

"I don't know if $10,000 will even clean the locker room," Marksberry said.

The football team, as well as the boys and girls soccer and basketball teams, and baseball teams, which also utilize the facility, will be displaced for an unspecified amount of time.