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head: Late-season Home Games A Possibility At Renovated Football Field

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

School officials this week said they remain hopeful that at least one or two

football games can be played at Bruce Jenner Stadium this season.

They are reviewing the situation to determine if the sod, to be laid in

August, will be rooted enough by mid to late October. The Nighthawks' final

two home games are scheduled for November 7 vs New Milford and November 14 vs

Notre Dame.

News of the possibility of "no home football games in '97" spread throughout

town last week, shocking both fans and players who were looking forward to the

season, especially since the Blue & Gold Club had recently installed lights

for night games.

However, the field has undergone extensive renovations and experts say the

field simply won't be ready. They say the field needs a good year of non-use

to guarantee its good condition for years to come.

"If you leave it dormant you're assured of having a good field," said school

business manager John Torok.

Rusty Malik of Kaestle Boos Architects said there is still a chance the field

could be used by mid to late October, but added that pushing the field before

it is ready could void the warranty.

Officials point out that two or three area high schools have rushed to play on

their newly sodded field in recent years and ended up paying the price.

According to Dave Strong, athletic director at Masuk High in Monroe, the

school put down sod on its football field in June of 1996. It played on the

field three months later in September and a few problems did occur.

"There were two areas that we probably shouldn't have played on. We had

drainage problems," he said. "In retrospect, we should not have played on the

field. We should have waited a year."

Members of the Public Building & Site Committee say they knew all along that

the NHS field would not be ready in time for the 1997 football season. They

don't understand why the issue has suddenly become big news.

There were delays in the renovation work at NHS, according to George Graikoski

of O&G Industries. In his report to the Public Building & Site Committee

Tuesday, Mr Graikoski stated that the organic matter in the topsoil used on

the field was only 2 to 3 percent. The specs called for a minimum of 6

percent, so organic matter had to be mixed in. It was a simple job, he said,

but the contractor, Darien Asphalt, delayed.

In our mind, Mr Graikoski said, this field was never going to be used for

football this fall. However, he added that the completion of the project was

not on top of his list of things to do.

"It wasn't a top priority in April or May or we would have taken over the job.

We didn't know it was important," he said.

Building committee member John Lipusz took exception.

"You don't think football is important at a high school? Basically the thing

should have been completed two months earlier according to the original

schedule," he said.