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  • Drum Major James Hovater prepares to lead the Cullman Middle School band onto the field for the first ever halftime show at the upgraded Oliver Woodard Stadium Thursday evening. The younger Bearcats had the pleasure of breaking in the new facility ahead of next week's varsity home opener against Walker High School. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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September 2, 2010

Turf’s up: Young Cats play 1st game on new field

By Justin Graves The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — Mike Donaldson stood by the fence behind the north end zone, watching as the first event was held on the newly-renovated playing surface at Cullman High’s Oliver Woodard Stadium.

But the Bearcats athletic director wasn’t alone, by any means.

Hundreds of fans filled the stands as the Cullman Middle School football teams hosted rival Hartselle for the very first game played on the new artificial turf field Thursday night.

“It looks good, doesn’t it?” Donaldson said. “This new facility, it’s something we’re very proud of.”

Proud may be an understatement. The new turf field, along with the stadium and track renovations, have been a hot topic at Cullman all summer.

The Cullman Middle School seventh-grade football team was the first squad to compete on the newly-renovated field, with Hartselle defeating the Bearcats 20-12.

But even though the opening game ended in a Cullman loss, fans still got their first glimpse of what is arguably one of the best high school playing surfaces north of Birmingham.

The only other high school football programs north of Birmingham that play on artificial turf are Class 6A schools Florence and Gadsden City.

But Florence’s Braly Municipal Stadium, which is owned by the city, also doubles as a collegiate facility. Division II power North Alabama plays its home games there.

“The renovations that have been done, it’s given us an outstanding field,” Bearcats coach Mark Britton said during an interview with The Times earlier this year. “We’re all very excited about it. Our kids are going to benefit from having a facility like this. This is just a really exciting time for our football program right now.”

While the middle school teams played on the new playing surface Thursday, the varsity football team won’t play on the renovated field until next week when Cullman hosts rival Walker in the Bearcats’ home opener.

Cullman only has four regular-season home games scheduled this season.

Justin Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.

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