The fields were playable. The weather and road conditions were not.

Eight area high school football games fell victim to the effects of Hurricane Ivan Friday night. Six were rescheduled for Saturday while two will be played Monday.

Mars' home game with Laurel has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Monday.

Mars football coach and athletic director Scott Heinauer said heavy flooding in that area necessitated moving the game to Monday night.

"I have an assistant coach who can't even get to his house right now," Heinauer said Friday. "We just don't know what the flooding is going to be like Saturday. We didn't want to take a chance."

Mars didn't postpone its game until 2:30 p.m. Friday.

"Being inside school all day, you really don't know how bad it is outside," Heinauer said. "When we got a call from our bus garage saying they couldn't get some of the students to their homes, we found out how bad it was.

"We're playing at 6 p.m. Monday to benefit Laurel. It is a school night and they have a long trip. There has to be give and take on these things."

Karns City athletic director Tom Wagner said more games could be pushed back to Monday.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Wagner said. "The rain may be gone Saturday. The flooding may still be here."

Karns City's football game at Keystone was the first to be postponed Friday. That decision occurred at 12:30 p.m.

"That was Keystone's call," Wagner said. "You always want to err on the side of safety. Someone who says you're being too careful - they're losing sight of the big picture.

"Right now (Friday night) we have flooding in Brady's Bend and flooding in Petrolia. If we're flooded in Saturday, we can't go anywhere and no one can come here," he added.

Besides football at Keystone, Karns City has two varsity soccer games and a junior high game scheduled at home Saturday.

Wagner said decisions would be reached on those soccer games at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Other postponed football games Friday include Shaler at Butler, Seneca Valley at North Hills, Freeport at Kittanning, Knoch at Keystone Oaks, Moniteau at Union and Summit Academy at Neshannock.

Moniteau-Union as been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday while Freeport-Kittanning will play at 1:30 p.m. Shaler-Butler, Seneca Valley-North Hills and Knoch-Keystone Oaks are set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Summit Academy-Neshannock will play at 7 p.m. Monday.

Butler did not postpone its football game until 4 p.m. Friday.

"Coaches of both teams wanted to play and our field was in good condition," Butler athletic director Tim O'Malley said. "As of 2 p.m., few games in the WPIAL were going to cancel.

"But with the continuance of rain and how quickly conditions deteriorated, it became a safety issue. We had no choice," he added.

Before deciding to shut down its athletic activities, Butler had already sent its seventh- and eighth-grade basketball teams to games at Hampton and North Allegheny, respectively.

O'Malley said both teams arrived home safely.

"If safe passage is guaranteed for the players, coaches and people who want to attend the football game Saturday night, we'll play," O'Malley said. "I'm not anticipating any problems."

Butler coach Garry Cathell said a few of his coaches had other plans for Saturday, but that all would make it to the game, with the possible exception of defensive coordinator Rick Roth, who is scheduled to be best man in a wedding Saturday.

"He told me he may be able to make it after he gives the toast at the reception … I don't know how that's going to work out," Cathell said.

"We know we're going to get the game in at some point. Since we're playing a night game, it will feel like a Friday night once we get out there," the coach added.

Knoch's game at Keystone Oaks was another late Friday decision. The Knights were preparing to leave for the game at 4 p.m., which is when it was postponed.

"Keystone Oaks was ready to go," Knoch coach Mike King said. "I guess it got bad in Butler before it hit the Pittsburgh area. They wanted us to come.

"I called them (Keystone Oaks) late in the afternoon because I didn't think we could get out of Saxonburg. They offered to play the game Saturday night and we gladly accepted," he added.

Knoch also postponed its Saturday morning home junior varsity football game.