MARTIN, Tenn. -- With most sports on hold after terrorists struck New York and Washington, fans gathered Thursday night at a small college football game in Tennessee and spontaneously sang God Bless America.

Tennessee at Martin fans' minds weren't solely on football.(AP)

Players and cheerleaders from Kentucky Wesleyan and Tennessee-Martin were joined on the field by local police and firefighters in tribute to those killed in Tuesday's attacks.

The game was the first team event to go on as scheduled in a week that has seen virtually all professional and major college sports postponed across the nation.

The crowd of 4,645 was led in prayer and heard a soloist's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before breaking into a chorus of God Bless America without musical accompaniment.

"May the forces of evil be broken by your power," said the Rev. Adam Hall said in a prayer to begin the game at 6,500-seat Skyhawks Stadium.

Despite the NFL, major league baseball and all NCAA Division I-A schools canceling or postponing games through Monday, the game between Division I-AA Tennessee-Martin and Division II Kentucky Wesleyan went on.

"This speaks to our sense of strength and freedom, that we will continue on," Hall said.

Tennessee-Martin won 54-14.

Tennessee-Martin athletic director Phil Dane said sports at the 5,900-student school is still a "student activity," and not big-time entertainment as it is in the Southeastern Conference and the NFL.

"We didn't shut down the tennis courts today. We didn't say students couldn't be involved in any other activity. I came to work. Everybody else came to work," he said. "We're trying to carry on business as usual."

J.D. Sanders, Martin's chief of police, said his group wanted to pay its respects to the officers, firefighters and others who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

"Any time you lose a firefighter or police officer, no matter where they are, it's like losing one of your own. And to lose that many at one time is something that's going to take a long time for all of us to get over," Sanders said.

David East, who has two nephews on the UT-Martin team, said he was glad school officials decided not to cancel the game.

"This game needs to be played," East said. "If the terrorists think they're going to disrupt America and bring everything to a halt, they're wrong. America is strong and we're going to go on."