With the simple flip of a switch, Memorial Field lit up Friday night for one of the city’s most anticipated high school football match-ups in years.
Fans from Concord and Bedford high schools filled the bleachers for what turned out to be a standing room only view of the top two teams in the Division I North Conference. It was a battle of unbeatens with a playoff spot on the line, something the Crimson Tide had not achieved since 2004.
The contest finished with a thrilling 34-27 victory for the Tide, improving the hometown team’s record to 7-0 and putting them in the driver’s seat for the top spot in the conference. But what those in attendance may not realize is just how much went into getting ready for this once-in-a-decade type battle.
Unlike the thousands of fans who show up an hour before the game to get a good seat and leave once they manage postgame traffic, those involved in orchestrating the production spent all week getting ready for Friday night.
From a football standpoint, fifth-year coach Eric Brown began his preparations last Saturday by watching game film from his team’s come-from-behind road win over Pinkerton on Oct. 11 before moving on to Bedford, which entered the game having allowed just 26 points all season with four shutouts.
“We try to watch film Saturday morning as early as possible,” said Brown, who began coaching at Concord in 1990. “That’s really when the preparation starts. As a staff I couldn’t even begin to count the hours we spend. It’s a lot of time.”
That was when the game plan started to take shape for the coaches and players, but there is a lot more that goes into the game than what just happens between the sidelines. And it includes those sidelines. Every week, whether there is a game or not, Tom “Kite” Wright of the city’s parks and recreation department spends hours getting the main field ready.
“After a weeks time and a couple mows, the lines get real dull,” said Wright. “It’s a long process.”
On Wednesday, he mowed from end zone to end zone, cutting the area around yard lines a little shorter to help with the field preparations later in the week. As Wright has done for many years, he painted each line with the use of a long rope and stakes on each end that stretched from one sideline to the other.
After all the yard lines are complete, Wright and John Andersch, who helps move the stakes while Wright paints, will put a fresh coat on the numbers and hash marks. Painting the field is something that must be done each week and takes about four hours to complete.
“This is the old school way,” said Wright.
On Friday mornings, Wright mows the field one final time and since the yard lines were done at a shorter height, the fresh cut does not affect the paint job.
And that’s just what Wright does to get the field ready – it doesn’t include what his job entails during the actual game.
But he is not the only one who has a lot on his plate during the week. Concord Athletic Director Steve Mello has plenty of coordination to take care of prior to kickoff.
Even though Mello, who has been at Concord since 2009, has been doing this line of work for a long time, there are still many things to cross off the list before game day rolls around.
On Monday, Mello will touch base with the head referee for the game and give him a rundown of the schedule for the evening. During the week, he is in constant contact with Brown and the coaching staff. There are also conversations with Andrea Bacher, who takes care of ticket sales, Julie Kukla with the Quarterback Club that operates concessions, as well as contacts for the marching band, cheerleaders and of course the week’s opponent, Bedford.
“Every step along the way we have to verify everything is done,” said Mello. “Everyone feels comfortable when they know exactly what’s going on.”
Mello plans the pregame down to the minute and through four home games so far, it has worked. He said it all comes down to having good people who he can trust.
“I like to have enough hands on deck,” said Mello. “We’ve got it down pretty good and it’s all about the planning.”
One of them is the game announcer, Concord High School Principal Gene Connolly. Connolly has spent the last five years as the home football announcer and also is the voice of the girls hockey team.
“A lot of the kids probably don’t know it’s my voice,” said Connolly. “The seniors know it’s me, but the younger guys probably have no idea.”
Connolly doesn’t call play-by-play, but rather considers himself as the public voice of the Tide. Leading up to the game against Bedford, Connolly got a copy of the Bulldogs roster so he could check out the names and numbers and make some quick notes on the players he might need to announce during the course of the game. He checks on pronunciations and has a script that he uses each time the Tide play at home.
“We’re pretty comfortable with our kids,” said Connolly.
But Connolly will not take all the credit for what he calls during the game. Derek Mercier, head coach of the freshman football team, acts as Connolly’s spotter and will tell Connolly who made a tackle or caught a pass and for how many yards.
“It makes my job a lot easier,” said Connolly.
Together with Steve Potoczak, who runs the clock and operates the scoreboard, the trio make sure fans are given the most up-to-date and accurate information.
“It’s a team effort in the booth, but it’s just my voice they hear,” said Connolly. “It’s a lot of fun, especially this year because we have a competitive team and a great group of kids. And you get an incredible view of the game.”
During the course of the week, Brown and his coaching staff are constantly preparing for those four quarters on Friday night.
“Those coaches have hundreds of hours of preparation that goes into the game,” said Mello.
The team watches film and lifts on Monday. They implement a defensive game plan on Tuesday, while any changes to the offense are put in place during Wednesday’s practice.
On Thursday, the Tide have one final walk through at Memorial Field.
“It’s a run-through of everything we’ve put in Monday and Tuesday and refining some of the things, correcting some of the mistakes we’ve found during the week,” said Brown.
To end the weekly preparation, the players go to Brown’s house for film on Thursday night.
“We like to do the same things,” said Brown.
On game day, Wright makes sure the locker rooms are set for both teams and the press box is ready for Connolly, Mercier, Potoczak and the media who will be covering the game.
He has to take out all the yardage markers, goal post pads and the chains. Wright even puts boards across the track for the players to walk over.
“That is all before the teams even show up,” said Wright.
For Mello, game day is reserved for last-minute details, but because he has so much help there is not a lot of things he leaves till then.
“You shouldn’t have too many jobs on the day of the game in case anything comes up,” said Mello.
Mello really oversees everything. He makes sure the fans are respectful, the teams have what they need and that the press is comfortable. The big thing for Mello is to provide a good environment for both teams and the fans.
“We’re out there to compete and win, but we also want to be a good host,” said Mello.
And while the players and coaches are getting ready over the course of the afternoon, team managers Becca Massah and Hana Knowles are ensuring the team has everything it needs.
“There’s a lot of little stuff,” said Knowles, who does a lot of prep work prior to game day. “We get everything ready and in the right spot so we don’t have to run around on Friday.”
They get the water bottles ready to fill, the headsets for coaches, as well as the med kit.
“We have our checklist and make sure we have everything with us,” said Massah.
The duo even take care of minor cuts during the games.
And on Friday night, the biggest crowd at Memorial Field in almost 10 years was given a great show. The highly anticipated contest came down to the final play and the Tide preserved their perfect season.
In a lot of ways it was like a grand finale, but come next week the cast will be back at it again preparing for the close of the regular season against Goffstown.
But the goal is for a few more home games once the playoffs roll around and another chance to show off all the hard work that goes into one 2 1∕2 hour game under the lights.
