In a steady rain, with no bleachers, rusted goalposts and neither football squad having more than five reserves on their sideline, the Suffolk Piranhas played host to their first AAU football action Saturday at Turlington Woods School.

It was the first regular season game for the two Piranha teams, a 10-and-under squad and a 12-and-under team, as the Piranhas are the first organization bringing AAU Football to Suffolk.

Petersburg’s Father House were the visitors for the doubleheader.

The 10U Piranhas got a scrimmage game in last Saturday, hosting and defeating the Tri City Tigers 19-0.

No such luck carried over to the first official contest. The Piranhas held the visiting Saints in check through their first few times with the ball before Father House scored a touchdown late in the first half and another in the third quarter for a 12-0 win for Father House.

The Piranhas tried moving the ball mostly through the air in the rain. Quarterback Darius Wilson and tailback Kenon Armstead connected for a couple of catches, but the weather and soggy field kept the Piranhas from stringing good gains together.

Defensive tackles Caleb Pittman and Deleon Goodman led the Suffolk defense. Pittman made four tackles in the backfield, and Goodman added three.

Armstead, a linebacker on the defensive side, recovered a Saint fumble midway through the fourth quarter. The Piranhas drove deeper into the opponent’s territory, down as far as the 25-yard line, but stalled there.

AAU Football has no weight limit. The rules, as much as possible for only two officials to keep up with, are National High School Federation rules.

More important than those facts though, at least for the debut, was simply playing and hitting out on the field. The rain may have added to the fun.

Both Piranha teams face their first road games at the DLH Sports Complex in Virginia Beach on Saturday. The 10U team plays the Pros and the 12U Piranhas meet the Cavaliers.