Midwest Athletic Conference 2021
- Thread starter StateChampion2012
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StateChampion2012
MAC Homer
Arbiter still shows they're open in week 1. I know the game with Patrick Henry that was supposed to happen last year until the obvious happened. But they play @ Hicksville that week.
Rocket Man
Member
Very nice video. Thanks for posting.
StateChampion2012
MAC Homer
7:00 I assume
Msfootball
Well-known member
As long as Marion Local gets some stability at Quarterback, they should be pretty good. Personally, I like Peyton at Qb for the additional running threat. He has a decent arm, but the rushing attack should be really strong and the focus this year. The Flyers should be pretty hungry this year. They did beat New Bremen in the regular season last year and in the rematch, the Cardinals didn't have the lead one time until the final moments of the game. They'll remember that feeling and come back strong.
Thavoice
Well-known member
Prayers go out to the Otten Family.
Chip's brother Dan lost his 4 year battle with cancer.
I remember when he was going through the initial issues with his hip and thought it was just overuse from all his running. Mr. Otten was a long time Cross Country/track coach in Celina as well as swimming and soccer.
You could be in Celina on the most nastiest of days and see some crazy guy out running and ask to yourself 'who in the heck is that'?
The answer was almost assuredly, Dan Otten!
Rest in Peace Mr. Otten, truly one of a kind.
statelinesportsnetwork.net
Chip's brother Dan lost his 4 year battle with cancer.
I remember when he was going through the initial issues with his hip and thought it was just overuse from all his running. Mr. Otten was a long time Cross Country/track coach in Celina as well as swimming and soccer.
You could be in Celina on the most nastiest of days and see some crazy guy out running and ask to yourself 'who in the heck is that'?
The answer was almost assuredly, Dan Otten!
Rest in Peace Mr. Otten, truly one of a kind.
Long-Time Celina Coach Dan Otten Passes Away
Long-time Celina Coach Dan Otten has passed away after his battle with cancer. Otten has been a key part of several programs for the Bulldogs, including cross country, track and soccer.
statelinesportsnetwork.net
yes the NO quit in the Cardinals was very impressive....... throughout their run thru the playoffs
StateChampion2012
MAC Homer
Not football related but still. Congrats Rangers!
CC Track Fan
Well-known member
Update on Field Turf in Delphos. Doesn't seem like a done deal with the big concern is where is the 570k every 10 years to replace going to come from.
Delphos Herald
DELPHOS — The city’s Parks and Rec Committee and Champions Field, Inc., met to discuss the proposed artificial turf project at Stadium Park Friday.
In attendance for the city were Councilmen Jeff Klausing (intterim Parks and Rec Committee chair), Scott Wiltsie, Jim Fortener, Joe Dray and Josh Bayliff, Safety Service Director Jamie Mehaffie and Mayor Doug Mullenhour.
Members of Champions Field Inc., include St. John’s varsity football coach and Athletic Director Todd Schulte, Jefferson High School physical education instructor and Athletic Director Kent Smeltzer and St. John’s High School Principal Adam Lee. Jefferson football coach Ben Rahrig was unable to attend.
Schulte opened the meeting by apologizing for the lack of communication between the city and council on the part of his group.
“When we met in November 2019, we left that meeting feeling like we had the go ahead,” Schulte explained.
The group was cautious once the coronavirus pandemic hit, but since September 2020, $853,000 has been raised from individuals, foundation grants and corporate sponsors for the reconstruction of the football field. The project is estimated to cost nearly $953,000.
“We want to provide turf for safety, number one. Now, the field dictates the game and turf is readily available after a rain event,” Schulte said.
Champions Field also researched different companies for the materials needed and chose Hellas Construction, Inc. to build the turf system with Matrix Turf and Cushdrain system. Eco Nailer was chosen for nailer board used in the turf installation process.
Hellas’ customers range from elementary schools and local parks to the Home of the Dallas Cowboys. Matrix Helix Turf has shape memory technology that bounces back more quickly from use and the Cushdrain underlay improves drainage of the field, minimizing downtime caused by heavy rains and remains resistant to rot, mildew, water freeze-thaw and compression set associated with athletic field use. Cushdrain also increases the longevity of the field, provides less recovery time, saves on wear and tear on the knees of athletes and helps reduce the likelihood of a concussion.
Lee addressed what he called “the elephant in the room.”
“Replacement costs,” he began. “There is an 8-year maintenance warranty on the turf so we would be raising funds in a 10-year window for replacement. We’re told its about 40-60% of the initial costs so we’re looking at $380,000-$570,000 over a 10-year period and we’re going to shoot for the $570,000.”
Lee said the group wasn’t going to look to raffles, chicken dinners or bingo but instead target local corporate marketing budgets, foundation grants and he also offered to help with grant-writing.
Councilman Wiltsie expressed his concerns.
“Your plans are impressive but it’s still the city’s property and it could fall onto the city to maintain. That would put us in a tough spot and we’d have to sacrifice other obligations and expenditures. I can’t support moving forward,” he said.
Councilman Bayliff asked if the other groups the field would benefit, like soccer and midget football, were committed to using the field as well.
“I’d like to see the community backing and support for this,” Bayliff added.
Schulte said they did not have a formal commitment but said the younger kids will be eager to play on the field the big guys play on.
Councilman Fortener asked if the group was going to do anything outside the field.
“Maybe you’ll build this field and the community will want better stands and concessions and get behind that,” Fortener said.
Schulte said the group was not opposed to helping with new stands if the money was there.
Councilman Klausing asked what the Champions wanted from the city as far as the construction of the field.
“We would just need some sweat equity with in-kind donations of labor and your support to move forward,” Schulte said.
No further meetings between the two were scheduled on Friday. The Parks and Rec Committee will report on its findings at Monday’s 7 p.m. council meeting.
Delphos Herald
DELPHOS — The city’s Parks and Rec Committee and Champions Field, Inc., met to discuss the proposed artificial turf project at Stadium Park Friday.
In attendance for the city were Councilmen Jeff Klausing (intterim Parks and Rec Committee chair), Scott Wiltsie, Jim Fortener, Joe Dray and Josh Bayliff, Safety Service Director Jamie Mehaffie and Mayor Doug Mullenhour.
Members of Champions Field Inc., include St. John’s varsity football coach and Athletic Director Todd Schulte, Jefferson High School physical education instructor and Athletic Director Kent Smeltzer and St. John’s High School Principal Adam Lee. Jefferson football coach Ben Rahrig was unable to attend.
Schulte opened the meeting by apologizing for the lack of communication between the city and council on the part of his group.
“When we met in November 2019, we left that meeting feeling like we had the go ahead,” Schulte explained.
The group was cautious once the coronavirus pandemic hit, but since September 2020, $853,000 has been raised from individuals, foundation grants and corporate sponsors for the reconstruction of the football field. The project is estimated to cost nearly $953,000.
“We want to provide turf for safety, number one. Now, the field dictates the game and turf is readily available after a rain event,” Schulte said.
Champions Field also researched different companies for the materials needed and chose Hellas Construction, Inc. to build the turf system with Matrix Turf and Cushdrain system. Eco Nailer was chosen for nailer board used in the turf installation process.
Hellas’ customers range from elementary schools and local parks to the Home of the Dallas Cowboys. Matrix Helix Turf has shape memory technology that bounces back more quickly from use and the Cushdrain underlay improves drainage of the field, minimizing downtime caused by heavy rains and remains resistant to rot, mildew, water freeze-thaw and compression set associated with athletic field use. Cushdrain also increases the longevity of the field, provides less recovery time, saves on wear and tear on the knees of athletes and helps reduce the likelihood of a concussion.
Lee addressed what he called “the elephant in the room.”
“Replacement costs,” he began. “There is an 8-year maintenance warranty on the turf so we would be raising funds in a 10-year window for replacement. We’re told its about 40-60% of the initial costs so we’re looking at $380,000-$570,000 over a 10-year period and we’re going to shoot for the $570,000.”
Lee said the group wasn’t going to look to raffles, chicken dinners or bingo but instead target local corporate marketing budgets, foundation grants and he also offered to help with grant-writing.
Councilman Wiltsie expressed his concerns.
“Your plans are impressive but it’s still the city’s property and it could fall onto the city to maintain. That would put us in a tough spot and we’d have to sacrifice other obligations and expenditures. I can’t support moving forward,” he said.
Councilman Bayliff asked if the other groups the field would benefit, like soccer and midget football, were committed to using the field as well.
“I’d like to see the community backing and support for this,” Bayliff added.
Schulte said they did not have a formal commitment but said the younger kids will be eager to play on the field the big guys play on.
Councilman Fortener asked if the group was going to do anything outside the field.
“Maybe you’ll build this field and the community will want better stands and concessions and get behind that,” Fortener said.
Schulte said the group was not opposed to helping with new stands if the money was there.
Councilman Klausing asked what the Champions wanted from the city as far as the construction of the field.
“We would just need some sweat equity with in-kind donations of labor and your support to move forward,” Schulte said.
No further meetings between the two were scheduled on Friday. The Parks and Rec Committee will report on its findings at Monday’s 7 p.m. council meeting.
Thavoice
Well-known member
Celina has the same problems when it was coming down to the $$ for their turf baseball field.
City looks at the school, school looks at the Bryson Trust, and the Trust looks at them like WTH, we cannot fund everything...
Here is the issue with turf in many places:
*They tout it will save the districts thousands of dollars, 40K a year in the upkeep is a figure I see kicked around.
Most of these are paid for by fundraisers, or some big donors so the field is essentially 'free' for the school so everyone is happy.
Until it needs replaced and repaired.
If schools were to put that "$40,000" away each year they say it takes to upkeep a grass field then in ten years they should be pretty darned close to having the $$.
but they dont.
Also, the argument is they can play more sports on the field, host playoffs, etc.
Soccer does not bring in any $$. Hosting playoffs, if you can even get games, does not do much either for the school.
At the end of the day, people get enamored by having a cool turf field and fall for the hype that it 'saves' money each year. Sure, if you can get it all donated, and then every decade when it needs replaced/repaired you get that $$ donated somehow then yeah, it does.
But it doesnt.....
I went through this argument a few years ago when it leaked that Coldwater was looking at the viability and throwing around fluff reasoning.
Yeah, a turf field is cool and very beneficial. No doubt about that.
Make any argument you want about why a place should have one, but don't say it saves the school/residents money in the long run because it wont in many instances.
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osuturfman
Active member
100% Agree. Turf is the answer for some places simply because of limited space. Cost-wise though, after the initial install and one replacement on turf, a properly built grass field will save a district $1M+ over 20 years. This isn't just back of the napkin math either.
Here's a good example at Pick Central. Old, tired grass field on topsoil.
Rebuilt in the spring/summer of 2019 with better drainage and a sand-based rootzone for safe footing during and after rain. 32 games in the fall of that year.
Photo from the first game of 2020.
47 games (football and soccer) in 11 weeks, here it is for the final home playoff game.
It's possible to have safe, great-playing, awesome looking grass fields in Ohio without a ton of expense, even for the smallest schools. This whole project was less than $225k with annual maintenance costs of $30k including labor, supplies, services, and overhead. 15-18 year lifespan if taken care of properly.
Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.
Thavoice
Well-known member
The narrative that is generally given is that turf fields save the district tens of thousands a year. You are saying that is not the case eh?
I always scoffed at that, unless you have some one with deep pockets who will repair when needed that is not going to be the case.
I am not anti turf whatsoever, but I believe when districts and boosters try to convince the populace they need to stay away from the 'saving money' aspect.
Locally they also tried to say how much it would pump into the local economy (a rediculous amount) and making $$ on hosting playoff games.
FIrst off, our team has been pretty decent over the years and making the playoffs often enough that you can only possibly expect games on one of the nights as no one would be around to work it when our team is playing elsewhere.
Also, being off the beaten track does not help either.
But I digress. It may work in some areas who have Ritchy Rich to fund it or have the need for multiple fields, or even sharing with other HSs.
Blue Jay Fan
Well-known member
Stadium Park in Delphos is a little different than most other fields. With two schools and three youth football teams the field can host up to 40 games a year. There are times when there are varsity games on Friday and Saturday nights. A couple rainy weekends and the field is a mire. The field was rebuilt not that long ago, maybe 10 years ago, with new drainage, sod, etc... A couple years later a wet fall required a huge amount of repair and resodding. Most of our MAC foes remember late season games at Stadium Park and the "grass" they got to play on. I have no doubt some of the cost of installation and replacement could be covered by volunteers with heavy equipment and plain old elbow grease. Delphos folks have been very supportive of projects like this through the years.
ghsknightsfan
love the Knights and Grey Ghosts!
i wish the best for this project. stadium park is a nice place, i stopped and took a look while driving through Delphos. turf could tremendously improve the facility. turf is proven to be safer and saves money on maintenance. you can charge a rental fee to outside organizations as well. it sounds like they’ve put together the best possible plan.
Thavoice
Well-known member
I am not debating the validity of them, or anyone else, having one.
For quite a long time, even when Celina did their baseball field in turf by the donations of Bill Montgomery, it was always touted how it saves so much money per year.
but it doesnt when the replacement comes around
That is all I am saying.
Bruce Monnin
Well-known member
I imagine part of the problem is that if it does save yearly maintenance money, no one puts those savings aside to pay for the replacement costs down the road.
Right. You don’t have to pay someone to mow the field twice a week, but now that same person is pulling weeds that otherwise were left to grow. From a cost accounting standpoint it makes sense, but not so much in the real world.
osuturfman
Active member
There's still a considerable amount of maintenance to make a turf field safe and playable, certainly not as much as a grass field. That said, just like a grass field the relationship between usage and required maintenance is directly proportional.
Here's a cost breakdown for a total lifetime cost for both surfaces built right and properly maintained. After initial construction, there are two replacements for turf versus one full replacement for natural over the 21 year period shown here.
If communities would realize they can have an outstanding field for far less money while still fundraising at a high level the possibilities are endless. Who wants to buy something that wears out in 10 years when the alternative is building things like indoor training facilities, improve existing fields, or catching up on deferred maintenance? Bottom line is, the kids would be in a much better position to succeed with better overall fields/facilities.
This is coming from someone who works with both surfaces all day, every day. In my opinion, this one is pretty black and white as to why one makes sense over the other. It's a case by case basis though.
Thavoice
Well-known member
Good stuff.
Presuming this is legit and not fake news?
Number of years ago after Celina got their turf (donated in part of a 250K improvement) we were raising $$ for new light poles and lights for the baseball diamond, believe it was around $80k. A few floated about, since Celina just got turf in baseball, that we should pivot and continue to fundraise for turf instead. It was quickly sqaushed, nothing came of it, and a few years later when the whole issue came up with whom would replace it I knew it was the right choice. Plus, I always preferred grass over turf anyways!
osuturfman
Active member
Man, the only thing I do that's fake is the synthetic turf.
who did the work?
i have always been impressed with the conditions of Stadium Park, knowing how many teams played on it, even impressed me more. From Freshmna games on Monday, JH games on Thursday, games on Friday and Sat., I thought the field crew did a hellva job for the kids to play on a safe field. If there was anyone in the area that would need a turf field, it would be the Wildcats and the Jays..... but a BIG HAND goes out to the people who have worked that field over the years
but with the decline in numbers at both schools..... that has to thought about too.....before such a BIG project
the second and third PIC.... those are grass fields? my gosh, they did a hellva job...... they look like TURF.....
i think the field management by some schools have a lot to do with the condition of the their fields.... around west central OHIO , i'm not sure the schools are given very good advice on to care for fields.... just because you can plant a field full of corn, doesn't mean you know a thing about having a great grass football field....
osuturfman
Active member
Real as the day it was born. We used bermudagrass on this field. Yes, you read that right, it works in Ohio. Maintained at 1.5" all year long and it's a fast track.
The key to safety and playability, even during rainy periods, is the sand cap it's built on. 3" of a very specific type of mason sand is what they play on top of.
Same stuff they use to build putting greens and high-end college/pro fields. Similar performance for a fraction of the budget. From there, it's just about doing all the simple things to maintain it right year after year.
Several different companies did the work. I consulted on it and ran the job for the school. Been helping them ever since to make sure maintenance stays on track and the admin provides the resources to support it. It's really cool when you get all those people in the room (maintenance, admin, AD), get them on the same page, then start making good stuff happen.
Anyhow, saw some chatter about fields and wanted to jump in. High School football is a big part of what got me in this business as a youngster and I always love to see communities have fields they can be proud of.
Thavoice
Well-known member
Us po country bumpkins cannot afford that stuff!
Captain Obvious
Active member
I had no idea Pick Central’s field was bermudagrass. The field looks amazing!
My kids play on turf at their MS/HS(D3 in football). The biggest reason my daughter likes playing soccer on turf is predictable footing. I’ve noticed skin infections aren’t uncommon. In my opinion, large suburban schools are best suited for turf. It’s one hundred percent the right move if a school has V/JV/F programs in football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and allows for youth programs to play, too.
Delphos has a very nice park/stadium. I’d suggest moving some park bleachers to an open field, putting up a scoreboard and press box, and making a separate field for MS and peewee football. I’m a big fan of the soccer specific stadiums in the WBL. Most are top notch and reduce wear on football fields by getting 20-30 soccer games off them. Same can be done with peewee and MS football.
I have heard it’s hard to get traction on new athletic department spending in my district because of turf replacement considerations. I’m sure there are others in the same predicament.
My kids play on turf at their MS/HS(D3 in football). The biggest reason my daughter likes playing soccer on turf is predictable footing. I’ve noticed skin infections aren’t uncommon. In my opinion, large suburban schools are best suited for turf. It’s one hundred percent the right move if a school has V/JV/F programs in football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and allows for youth programs to play, too.
Delphos has a very nice park/stadium. I’d suggest moving some park bleachers to an open field, putting up a scoreboard and press box, and making a separate field for MS and peewee football. I’m a big fan of the soccer specific stadiums in the WBL. Most are top notch and reduce wear on football fields by getting 20-30 soccer games off them. Same can be done with peewee and MS football.
I have heard it’s hard to get traction on new athletic department spending in my district because of turf replacement considerations. I’m sure there are others in the same predicament.
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Thavoice
Well-known member
Many were sold a bill of goods over the last decade. They touted the savings, but it was conveniently left out or included on pay 65, subsection a, in small print, that there would be a cost.
I believe more communities are better educated nowadays, and that is a good thing.
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