Waynesburg Central hopes new turf will spark team
To say that Raider Field, the home of the Waynesburg Central Raiders football and soccer teams, has undergone some changes since this time last year is an understatement. At times, running the Raiders’ complicated Wing-T offense on the uneven grass surface was an adventure. If heavy rain fell, the playing surface would often times turn into a soupy, muddy mess that made secure footing nearly impossible.
Also, the field would often times look chewed up and have large patches of bare earth showing because of overuse from the football and soccer teams.
That was last year, however. This year, the Raiders will have a brand new artificial surface field to compete on. The team feels it will give their speed-based offense an immediate boost from last year.
“The field itself will help us in all aspects, whether it’s games or practice,” Waynesburg coach Dave Sarra said. “We know that, no matter what the weather has been doing, we’ll have sure footing.”
The turf was installed by Pro Grass LLC and features artificial grass on top of a crushed rubber base that actually yields more cushioning than a natural surface. This may surprise some who have played on older “astroturf” fields that were laid down on top of concrete.
There are similar fields that have been installed at WPIAL schools like Peters Township, Albert-Gallatin, Steel Valley and Connellsville. Also, Division-I football programs, Duke, Akron, and Troy are also satisfied clients of Pro Grass.
Waynesburg Central quarterback Mitch Monas said that no one is as anxious and excited about the field as the team.
“We’ve been going out and taking a look at it pretty much every day,” Monas said. “On a scale of one to 10, I would give it a 10, it’s pretty nice. It’s just nice to know that you’ll have your feet there and there won’t be any slipping and sliding around.”
While the Raiders are hoping that field will help them to improve their offense from last year, there are other, less measurable attributes that the new surface has already had on the Red and Black.
“I feel like it gives us more respect as a team and as a program when other teams come to play us,” Monas said. “It’s definitely something to be proud of.”
The Raiders will play their first game on their brand new turf in week two when they host the Ford City Sabers. It will be a special night for anyone affiliated with the Raider football program, including those behind the scenes that Sarra feels deserve a lot of thanks.
“We’ve got to say thank you to the administration and the school board for doing this for us and the school,” Sarra said. “They went out and got this done.”