East St. Tammany Parish high schools held up well athletically during Hurricane Gustav, as no schools had major damage to sports facilities.

Salmen, which had a lot of damage when Hurricane Katrina hit, got through Gustav with no problems.

Principal Byron Williams said the school has power, and everything is OK.

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Slidell High had some damage, but athletic director George Herdliska said things could have been much worse.

“We did really well,” Herdliska said. “We had lights out on our football stadium and some (light fixtures) that had turned on one of the light poles. We had two storage sheds damaged, windscreens damaged on our tennis courts, and we had roof damage to our softball dugouts. That was all basically minor compared to what it could’ve been. We were very fortunate.”

The Tiger football team now turns its attention to Friday night when Slidell hosts cross-town rival Salmen to begin the season.

Over at Northshore, things are working fine. The football stadium had a fence come down on the visitor’s sideline, according to athletic director Tom Gainey. Other than that, Gainey said the scoreboard lights are working and the field is in great shape.

Pope John Paul II felt some affects of the storm. PJP athletic director Bill Gallagher eyeballed the damage and talked about what he saw.

“The (football) scoreboard is a little bent, and the signs with our baseball and powerlifting state championships was blown down,” Gallagher said.

The fences on the baseball and softball fields held up, and Gallagher believes that is because he and football coach Mark Jeanmard took down the windscreens that run along those fences.

The Jaguars’ football team will take on the Pearl River Rebels Friday night at PJP in the opener for both teams.

Over at Pearl River, athletic director Charlie Bowman said his school got through the hurricane in good shape.

“The school was used as an evacuation facility for nursing home patients and others with health problems,” Bowman said. “There were no problems structurally, no wind damage or flooding. Everything is good.”

Bowman credited the new fences for keeping the school safe.

“I think the fencing installed over the summer helped avoid some potential vandalism and looting. Those who were working were able to keep their things inside the fencing and not have to worry about them.”

St. Tammany Parish schools will re-open tomorrow.