High School Athletic Directors putting the finishing touches on football’s returns to the Upper Cumberland Friday night.
Stone Memorial hosts York in Friday’s opener. Athletic Director Nathan Brown said some of the challenges this week were water for the new field and preparing a new game clock operator to ensure perfect execution under the lights.
“On Monday, we found out that our video board, which displays our scoreboard and our ads that we’ve sold for the community, we had panels out,” Brown said. “We got struck by a storm. So [Wednesday], we had crews here all night, working until about seven or eight at night to get those panels replaced and ready for game day.”
Preparation looks a little different for teams hitting the road. Upperman visits Knoxville Webb Friday evening. Athletic Director Jimmy Maynord said he has ensured every player is eligible and all of the coaches have the proper certification. He said there are a few extra tasks to complete for road games.
“When you’re preparing for the road, you’ve got rosters you have to send in,” Maynord said. “Parking passes, press passes, just things like that that you coordinate with the other school.”
Maynord said he is responsible for scheduling the buses needed for team transportation and the arrival times for his team.
Maynord said Week 1 is always exciting, but the first time through the process can be nerve wracking.
In addition to the game night logistics, Brown said he has been working to ensure the concession stands are stocked and that digital payment systems are operational. He said the this week was spent making sure everything is organized.
Brown said the team has practiced hard all summer, but the home opener is important to other activities too. Brown said the marching band, cheerleaders, and dance team have been practicing all summer and they are ready to perform.
“At Stone Memorial, we do what’s called the Panther Walk,” Brown said. “So the band, the cheer team, and the dance team lead us out onto the field each home game. We’ll come through the stands. Cheerleaders will be cheering, leading their chants, and the dance team will be right there with them. Our band will be playing our fight song to get us ready, and our football players will come out right behind them. It’s a big organizational piece there, but we love doing it.”
Brown said there are over fifty band students that have been preparing their halftime show over the last few weeks at band camp. Brown said the cheerleaders have been doing camps and conditioning all summer as well.
The Upperman band and cheerleaders will be in attendance at the season opener. Maynord said those teams have been in camps all summer preparing for the season just like the teams have.
Maynord said he wanted to remind people that Upperman’s first football game at Knoxville-Webb will be played in the Eastern Time Zone, so kickoff will be an hour earlier at 6pm Central. Stone Memorial’s home game against York will kick off at 7 pm.
