The Paoli Rams football team kicks off its season tonight, Friday, August 15, in a preseason scrimmage against the Forest Park Rangers. Typically, the scrimmage would be held at Cook Field, the home field of the Rams; however, due to issues with the field, the scrimmage has been relocated to the football field located at Paoli Community Park. The scrimmage starts at 7:30 p.m., admission is free to all, and people are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for seating.

The move away from Cook Field is not a typical occurrence. 

During the past winter in Paoli, the weather was significantly colder than usual, and a large ice and snowstorm swept through the area. As a result, the grass on the game and practice fields died and would not regrow. 

“We realized in the spring that something went wrong with the football fields due to them not growing back all the way, which was caused by a very cold winter and winds coming out of the north,” said Athletic Director Darek Newkirk.

To fix the field, the school hired Grassmaster’s Indiana, and after further assessment, the decision was made to re-sprig both fields. Respriging is the process of planting small grass plants in the soil. 

The price for both fields to be redone totaled $26,050. The process began in early June, when the company planted the sprigs in the fields. The fields had watering schedules throughout the day to help the sprigs grow. Once the fields were re-sprigged, there was a roughly two-month timeline until they would be ready for use again. As the Rams’ season starts up, they hope to be on the field again in the next week or two.

For the future of the fields, there is little that can be done in terms of prevention. 

“We are just going to hope for mild winters in the future, that won’t cause the grass to die,” said Newkirk.