NEWPORT, Tenn. — Marlon Espinoza and Daniel López are sitting outside their cabin one recent evening. The sky is filled with stars and the air is crisp in northeastern Tennessee.

The two men are farm workers from Sinaloa, Mexico. They pick tomatoes. It’s their fourth season working on this farm, they say.

“We get good pay, and we can help our families back home,” says Espinoza, who is 32.

“But this season has been harder,” adds López, 24. He’s wearing a T-shirt with the picture of an eagle, and a land of the free, home of the brave, America logo.

Hurricane Helene ravaged the Southeast just over a week ago, including where the tomato farm sits outside Newport.

“We lost our food and other belongings, like clothes,” López says. “The refrigerator was knocked down by the water, and all the food spilled out. We didn’t expect it to be that bad.”

López says he and the other workers knew a storm was coming, but they didn’t think the river would rise so quickly. He says they all scrambled to get whatever belongings they could and moved to higher ground.

“Water came up to here,” says López, pointing to his knees.

Marlon Espinoza, 32, and Daniel López, 24, pose for a portrait at the tomato farm where they work near Newport, Tenn.

Marisa Peñaloza

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Marisa Peñaloza

This disaster is of unprecedented scope. More than 200 people across the Southeast U.S. have been killed by Hurricane Helene, and recovery has been slow in the mountainous area of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

Communities in this part of Tennessee are relying heavily on nonprofit groups and on neighbors’ good will to provide water, cleaning supplies and food. For the Hispanic community in flood-ravaged parts, though, getting help is complicated by language and cultural barriers, leaving some people feeling isolated, especially these farm workers.

The larger Latino community is reaching out to help Latinos

On a clear night, a group of volunteers descend on the tomato farm bringing food and water to Espinoza and López and the other farm workers here.

“We want to tell you that what we are doing tonight is the least we can do for our people,” pastor Alexis Andino says as the workers gather around. “It’s the minimum a Hispanic can do for another Hispanic. We thank God we are alive.”

Andino came from Honduras, and he’s lived in Tennessee for almost three decades.

Julio Colíndres, a volunteer, walks around with a box filled with food bags.

“Ya tiene bolsita?” Do you have a baggie already?” he asks.

“Frijoles!” beans!” Colíndres shouts to the crowd.

Rogelio Morales, from Guatemala, stands in the field clutching his food bag. “I got two pieces of bread, water, a bag of sandwiches, a can of beans, a can of pears,” he says with a smile on his face.

“This is the first time we get help” since Helene made landfall here, says Morales. “We survived on Maruchan.” He’s talking about the popular instant noodle soup.

Seeking help outside the farm is unfathomable to him. “I really don’t know how to navigate the area,” he says.

“I’m so grateful to these people, it feels good to have something,” he says, his voice trailing. “It’s good to know that there are people who think about us, people who are in need.”

Sandra de Leon (right) hands out supplies to people from the community of Newport, Tenn. She and her husband, Ruben Aguilar, came to the U.S. from Guatemala decades ago and now manage 180 properties in the nearby town of Pigeon Forge.

Rubén Aguilar

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Rubén Aguilar

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Morales smiles again just thinking of what’s next. “We are going to have dinner now,” he says with a laugh.

For some volunteers, this work is personal

“This hit really close to home,” says Sandra de Leon, talking about the storm and its impact on the farm workers. She and her husband are the main drivers of this grassroots aid effort tonight.

De Leon, 43, says so many people have been generous — sending donations even from out-of-state: “People have been calling me asking, ‘What do you need, what do people need?’ ”

She and her husband, Ruben Aguilar, came to the U.S. from Guatemala decades ago.

“We’ve done what they’ve done,” she says. “We’ve migrated. We’ve picked tomatoes. We’ve cleaned houses, we’ve done everything.”

Today, the couple are successful owners of a cleaning business. They manage 180 properties in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and it’s some of these cabin owners who have been pitching in since Helene hit.

De Leon says it’s also important to help farm workers because they help feed society. “They pick the fruits and the vegetables that we buy. So they are very important and they’re the people [who] get less attention,” she says.

The couple is also helping their all-Latino workforce, they say.

Grateful to have a job

Hurricane Helene left the tomato farm in bad shape, and Espinoza says they went days with no work and no power and water. Work resumed a few days ago; power and water have come back, as well.

López laments the changes that Helene brought. “We were harvesting, and there’s no more harvest now. We are doing clean-up work now — we are cleaning all the mess the hurricane left behind,” he says.

But both men say they feel grateful. And when their contract ends at the end of this month here in Tennessee, they say they’ll head to Florida for their next job.

The gathering on the farm dwindles, and Pastor Andino calls for a prayer.

“Thank you, God, for this day, for giving us this gift,” he prays. “Thank you for the opportunity that you’ve given these men and women working here to survive, for allowing life and health to persevere in the midst of destruction and suffering.

“Amen.”

Tennessee football dropped its first game of the season 19-14 at Arkansas on Saturday night.

Vols’ quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled and had 158 passing yards with no touchdowns. Dylan Sampson had 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vols’ rushing attack.

Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green threw for 266 yards but had to leave the game in the second half with an injury. He was replaced by Malachi Singleton, who ran in the game-winning touchdown.

The Razorbacks had a long 16-play 74-yard drive that took 9:12 off the clock. However, the Vols’ defense held the Razorbacks to a field goal and were down 3-0 with 5:48 left in the first quarter. The Vols then went three-and-out thanks to some penalties by the offensive line, but the Razorbacks turned it over on downs and failed to take early control of the game.

The Vols continued to do nothing on offense, but still only trailed 3-0 due to a fourth down stop by the defense when Arkansas was deep in Tennessee territory. The defense would continue to hold up for Tennessee and got another break when Arkansas missed a 44-yard field goal and failed to put any more distance between themselves and the Vols.

It was the worst offensive half of head coach Josh Heupel’s time at Tennessee. The Vols scored no points in the first half for the first time under Heupel and only had 76 yards compared to 222 for the Razorbacks. It was the first time in Heupel’s 80 career games as a head coach that he was held scoreless in the first half. Tennessee also only had 15 rushing yards at halftime and was getting dominated in the time of possession battle, 9:26 to 20:34. The Vols’ defense was the only reason they were still in the game.

The start of the third quarter was exactly what the Vols needed. They took the ball 73 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game with a short Sampson run. The biggest play of the drive was a 53-yard run by Sampson that finally gave the Vols an explosive play and they led 7-3. After a stop, the Vols scored a again to take a 14-3 lead with 8:19 left in the third quarter.

The Razorbacks finally found the endzone with their own eight-play 75 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Ja’Quinden Jackson touchdown run. A running into the kicker penalty extended an Arkansas drive that ended in a field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 with 12:08 to play in the game. Green had to leave the game with an injury he sustained on that drive.

Tennessee couldn’t not put the hame away on offense and gave the ball back to Arkansas and backup quarterback Singleton. He was able to get the Razorbacks into the endzone with his legs and give them a 19-14 lead with 1:17 to play after a failed two point conversion.

The Vols could not score on their ensuing drive and the Razorbacks held on to win.

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The clock may be ticking for Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis, and one AFC South coach seems to think his time may be running thin.

Titans head coach Brian Callahan has maintained that Levis will keep the job, but another coach win the division disagrees.

“It’s only a matter of time before Mason Rudolph takes over,” the coach said, via Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

Tennessee signed Rudolph in free agency for this exact reason. Rudolph has plenty of starting experience from his Pittsburgh Steelers days, and while he did not necessarily light it up during his six-year tenure with the club, he was still a solid backup.

Last season, Rudolph stepped in for an injured Kenny Pickett and even led the Steelers to the playoffs, throwing for 719 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 74.3 percent of his passes in four appearances and three starts.

The Titans selected Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Levis ultimately supplanted Ryan Tannehill under center midway through his rookie campaign and hit the ground running, throwing four touchdown passes in his first start.

However, Levis then amassed a grand total of three touchdown tosses over his final eight starts last season. He hasn’t been much better in 2024, registering 604 yards, four touchdowns and a league-worst six picks through four games.

It should be noted that Levis suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder and left the game after throwing just four passes against the Miami Dolphins last week.

Tennessee spent considerable money during the offseason to try and compete in the AFC South, but the Titans have gotten off to a 1-3 start heading into their Week 5 bye.

Levis’ subpar play is a major reason for Tennessee’s struggles.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!