Back-to-back Texas state champion Gordon Longhorns' athletic facilities destroyed by suspected violent tornado

Devastating storm levels football and baseball fields, weight room, equipment room, and gym roof; community rallies as school assesses damage and future of fall sports season

A softball rests in the grass in front of a destroyed facility that appeared to house sports equipment at Gordon High School after violent storms - and a suspected tornado - devastated much of the campus on Sunday night, May 18, 2025. / Mike Reed

The back-to-back Class 1A defending state champion Gordon Longhorns might not have a home field to play football on this fall – or even a weight room – after a violent storm devastated the athletic facilities overnight on Sunday.

“No more football and baseball stadium.”

Those were the overnight words of Gordon (Texas) Longhorns Athletic Director Mike Reed, who reported on Facebook that he and his family were OK after violent storms ripped through Gordon late Sunday night and directly impacted the town of Gordon and ISD property.

"Severe weather - likely involving tornado activity - impacted Gordon and surrounding areas in Palo Pinto County, resulting in property damage and several injuries," said Chad Jordan, Palo Pinto County Office of Emergency Management emergency management coordinator, in a statement. 

The National Weather Service will not know whether it was a tornado that caused the damage until it can investigate the area. But a large and violent “wedge” tornado was photographed and videoed by trained spotters throughout the night on Sunday, with some veteran chasers estimating its width to reach well over a mile wide at certain points.

In the light, the results of the storm are devastating. What’s left of the high school football field that housed the 15-0 state champion Longhorns football team is now unrecognizable, with piles of scattered and twisted debris everywhere. The baseball field is much the same.

A picture of some of the destruction at Class 1A Gordon High School, which took a big hit during powerful storms - and likely a tornado - on Sunday night that swept across Texas. / Mike Reed

The weight room and equipment storage areas were also devastated and seemingly at a total loss, though Reed said it was still too dark at the time of his comments to know much more.

The video below shows what the back-to-back defending state champions' football stadium looked like prior to Sunday's storm.

Reed continued, “We are okay. Got in shelter. Did lots of damage. No more football and baseball stadium. All equipment, uniforms, etc. gone. Weight room (collapsed) and destroyed, new gym roof also ripped off in parts, and school damaged but too dark to evaluate.”

A wide shot shows the devastation to Gordon ISD property after a violent storm - and suspected wedge tornado - tore through the area late Sunday. / Mike Reed

Like many others in and around Gordon, there were personal stories, too. Reed – whose son Stryker was a standout junior on the championship squad and MVP of the 2024 UIL Class 1A Division 1 state title game – said he and his family also had a harrowing ordeal at home as the potential twister tore through town.

“Took our backyard and shifted (the) house and busted truck windows and house window,” Reed said. “Lots of houses ruined. No electricity.”

The Longhorns’ schedule has the defending champions set to begin the season at home against Ranger on Oct. 17, but it’s way too soon to know what the school plans to do for its athletic programs. For now, everyone is focused on picking up the pieces of what’s left.

Gordon's Stryker Reed (3) wins offensive MVP at the Class 1A DI state championship at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. / Paul Witwer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gordon ISD released a lengthy statement on the devastation early Monday.

“We can’t thank you enough for the outpouring of love,” the statement read. “We are most thankful that no life-threatening injuries occurred. We do have substantial damage on campus. We will assess better (Monday morning). For safety purposes, we ask that everyone please stay off campus at this time, including staff. We need to let emergency crews and insurance adjusters do their job.”

The statement continued, “Please stay off the football/baseball field. It’s not safe.”

Quickly updating We are okay. Got in shelter. Did lots of damage. No more football and baseball stadium. All...

Posted by Mike Reed on Sunday, May 18, 2025

The statement went on to say that cell and internet service in the town was not working – a common event when storms the size of Sunday’s also devastate cell towers.

During live coverage of the Gordon tornado Sunday night, the storm appeared to originally develop three smaller “rope” tornadoes well to the west, as captured on video by trained spotters, that seemingly blended into one larger “wedge” tornado as it picked up steam and headed toward Gordon.

Remnants of debris piles against a backstop at Gordon High School, with a portion of the football field's bleachers still visible in the background. A violent storm swept through the area Sunday, May 18, 2025, causing widespread damage across the town and to the school's facilities. / Mike Reed

Advanced warnings perhaps helped save lives, as the system that produced the twister remained active, and a tornado was believed to have mostly remained on the ground, for some 2 hours, 40 minutes, per data shared by the Max Velocity YouTube account – a renowned severe weather channel of veteran storm chasers with over 1.2 million subscribers.

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE: 8TV captured damage caused by severe storms and a suspected tornado overnight. Gordon ISD's athletic and school facilities were badly damaged in the storm. Read more here: https://t.co/DRospvvtIG pic.twitter.com/E0pVklR4Sh

— WFAA (@wfaa) May 19, 2025

---

More stories from High School On SI:

feed