Friday Night Picks: Mount Gilead to unveil newlook football facility

MOUNT GILEAD — It may be Week 3 in Ohio high school football, but a new era is dawning in Mount Gilead.

The school district upgraded its facility, and it's finally ready to be unveiled.

"The new field is absolutely beautiful," Mount Gilead head football coach Mike Reid said. "It’s Bermuda grass, which mostly you see in the Rose Bowl or the Southeastern Conference. I think Lambeau Field has Bermuda grass, and that’s the farthest north stadium that has it up in Green Bay. It’s a special grass. The surface is absolutely incredible right now."

Mount Gilead dug out the old field, put down new drainage tile and resurfaced it. It's poured the base for a new all-weather track, which will be laid in a couple of weeks. New fencing all over the grounds, paving of former gravel areas around the stadium and new LED lighting are more upgrades.

"We're very appreciative of the hard work that has been completed by our contractors to provide our student-athlete and band members with an exceptional surface to compete and play on,” Mount Gilead Superintendent Dr. Zack Howard said in a release. “We think that the stadium experience at events will be vastly improved for our families, fans, and visitors and one that our community richly deserves."

Reid said they tried it out Monday night and found the lighting to be on par with Division I college stadiums.

"Some of the kids from around the area saw the lights came on," Reid said. "They called up their buddies, and we almost had the whole football team back up here. It’s kind of like a field of dreams where you build it and they will come. These kids started coming out of no where (Monday) night."

That was also the first time players were allowed to step onto the new field. Mount Gilead had some early trouble this summer getting it to grow.

"They come in with a sprigging machine. The grass has already started so they drill it into the ground," Reid said. "The week they sprigged it was the week we had those terrible storms here so there was a little setback. It didn’t destroy it, but kind of set back the growing time for it, so we moved our first game over to Ridgedale because it wasn’t quite ready yet. It’s ready now and it looks nice. Obviously I’m biased, but it’s one of the nicest surfaces in Central Ohio."

Besides the unveiling of the upgraded football facility, Mount Gilead will also hold Military Appreciation Night on Friday. All veterans and active duty members of the military will be admitted free by signing in at the pass gate by the main gate with their military identification. This goes for Mount Gilead and Elgin fans.

The Indians will wear helmet stickers with the insignia of the 112th Engineer Battalion of the Ohio National Guard.

“It is our very small token of thanks for the time you have given, or are giving, to make the United States a place where we can enjoy these Friday nights playing the game we love,” Reid said in a release.

If Monday's reaction by the team is any indication, Mount Gilead is ready to kick off its new era.

"They looked like like 6-year-olds playing their first Colt game," Reid said of his team. "They were pretty excited. I really appreciate the administration and the board and superintendent and the community to allow this opportunity for the kids."

Here are Rob McCurdy's picks for the area's high school football games for Week 3:

∎ Marion Harding at Newark: Mount Vernon beat Marion Harding in double overtime. Newark beat Mount Vernon by a point late in the game. So that means Newark will beat Mount Vernon? As close as those other two games were, it's hard to make that kind of conclusion, but Ashland took it to Harding pretty hard in the second half last week so the team's health and fitness is a concern. Pick: Newark.

∎ River Valley at Tiffin Columbian: This is a tough opponent for the Vikings. The Tornadoes are traditionally a tough out in northern Ohio football. River Valley doesn't need to be perfect, but it needs to play crisper than it did in the first two weeks of the season if the Vikes are to pull off the mild upset. Pick: Tiffin Columbian.

∎ Whitehall-Yearling at Pleasant: Like the River Valley game above, this is a tough schedule for Week 3 for the Spartans. Pleasant's offense has produced just 14 points so far, and it will likely need that or more if the Spartans are to beat the Rams. Pick: Whitehall-Yearling.

∎ Elgin at Mount Gilead: Elgin improved drastically from Week 1 to Week 2, but Mount Gilead will be extra excited for this one considering it's unveiling the new digs on Friday night. The Indians might have a little more firepower than the Comets in this one. Pick: Mount Gilead.

∎ Franklin Furnace Green at Ridgedale: It was good to see the Rockets get a win, even at the expense of an undermanned Vanlue squad. Ridgedale went on the road to beat Green last year, but it appears the Bobcats are a better version in 2022. Pick: Green.

∎ Highland at Crestview: This is a good test for the Scots. Crestview is an uber-talented outfit that's in the midst of a renaissance. Highland will need Dane Nauman to do his thing, but will the defense be up to the challenge of stopping the Cougars? Pick: Crestview.

∎ Crestline at Cardington: This is one the Pirates can and should claim. Pick: Cardington.

∎ Bucyrus at Northmor: If the Golden Knights play to their potential, it could be a quick night for the starters. Pick: Northmor.

∎ Danville at North Union: The two teams are undefeated, but North Union is an another level this season. Pick: North Union.

∎ Last week: 6-3. Season: 12-4.

∎ Be sure to visit MarionStar.com and its app Friday night and Saturday morning for score updates, photo galleries and high school football game stories and roundup. Also pick up a copy of Sunday's Marion Star to see the content in print.

Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at the Marion Star and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

Marion Star Football Player of Week 2 Winner

• In last week's poll, Highland's Hayden Kline, who made 11 tackles and caught five passes in a loss to Wooster Triway, earned 489 of 1,241 votes (39 percent) to win it. Other nominees were River Valley's Cayden Shidone, Elgin's Landon Shepherd, North Union's Owen Davis, Northmor's Maxton Lower and Mount Gilead's Matthew Bland.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Friday Night Picks: Mount Gilead to unveil newlook football facility