Tenino preparing for a blackout when Friday night football returns

Friday night football returns to Thurston County this week. Local stadiums will fill with cheering fans, and lights will flood the fields as the 2017 season begins.

But at Tenino High School, players, coaches and community members are preparing for a blackout.

“The kids are really excited about it,” Tenino coach Cary Nagel said. “It’s going to be a cool look.”

Tenino’s new black synthetic turf field will be ready just in time for the program’s rivalry game against Rochester on Friday night.

To celebrate its installation — it’s the only black turf field in Washington, and believed to be one of only two black turf fields in the United States — players will wear black for the first game. And fans will mirror that by wearing black shirts.

“I like it, it’s unique,” Tenino senior Tyrick Weyrauch said. “Everyone is asking to play on (the field) — even just to come watch us practice on it. It puts us out there. It’s something different Tenino has.”

Which is exactly why the committee formed to choose the color picked black, Tenino principal Garry Cameron said. Most turf fields are green. Tenino’s school colors are black and red, but Eastern Washington University already had a red field.

“We looked at a few different options — red, traditional green and black,” he said. “We really wanted something special to set ourselves apart.”

Workers broke ground on the black field at Beaver Stadium in the spring, after the school received large grants from Hellas Construction and TransAlta that contributed to the roughly $1.2 million that the project cost.

The school also received major donations from The Adam Craig Foundation, OBEE Credit Union, Tenino Telephone and Forest Jones Investments, Cameron said.

The field, scoreboard and LED lighting are all new, and Cameron said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I’m excited to play on the black turf,” Tenino senior Miles Cannon said. “I think (other) teams are excited to play on our field, too. It’s just a great atmosphere.”

And it’s nearly one of a kind. To Cameron’s knowledge, the only other black turf field in the nation is at West Salem High School. He said Tenino officials contacted the Oregon high school about its experience with a black field. One of the biggest questions was how temperature affects the field.

“We did our homework,” Cameron said. “We called West Salem and spoke to a representative there who told us that they have not had any problems with heat.

“They said (the turf) was advertised as two degrees hotter to them. They have kept it booked every summer all summer.”

Tenino hopes to do the same and plans to use the field for soccer and band as well as physical education classes.

“We’re a small community, and our community is going to benefit from this,” Cameron said. “It’s special for us.”

Cannon and Weyrauch both noted how the field change will affect games. In past seasons, the grass would hold up for the first few weeks of the season but would deteriorate quickly when the rain started, Cannon said. Both players agreed the mud would eventually make it difficult to play.

“It’s not fun,” Cannon said, gesturing to show how the mud could reach a foot deep. “The new turf field will be really good for getting our offense going and for safety.”

The turf will also be easier to maintain, Cameron said. No more trying to mow the grass in the mud or trying to chalk line the field in between rainstorms. And no more worrying about the possibility of cancellations.

“We were only able to use (the field) four months of the school year,” he said. “We were spending a lot of resources and a lot of time trying to keep the field going for just four months.”

The new field is just one piece of what Tenino’s football program hopes is the beginning of an upswing.

“Everything is turning around for Tenino,” Weyrauch said.

The Beavers finished 3-6 last season, losing their final six games. Nagel, a former assistant at Shelton and Franklin Pierce was hired in March, and he has worked to get the program back on a winning track. He is Tenino’s third coach in three years.

“We just wanted a good coach, and we got it,” Weyrauch said. “I’m excited for this upcoming year.”

Nagel established a weight room program the day he arrived, he said, which has brought the team together and improved strength. His presence on a daily basis has made a big difference, his players say.

Nagel — who played at Shelton under Matt Hinkle, beginning his 22nd year with the Highclimbers — said he aims to mirror longtime coaches like Hinkle or Sid Otton, who retired as the state’s all-time winningest coach after 43 years at Tumwater.

“It’s something that I look up to, and that’s how I want to be,” Nagel said. “I want to be a staple here for a long time. That’s a big deal to me.”

Weyrauch said Nagel is turning Tenino into what it should be — a dynasty.

“Every year having weight lifting programs, kids showing up to practice, an actual program,” Weyrauch said. “Something kids want to be a part of — a winning team. I think that’s what we’re headed towards.”

Cannon agrees, and he thinks Tenino has found its guy in Nagel.

“I think this guy right there will be here for a long time,” Cannon said. “I’m happy to see that.”

With several returning players, the Beavers are looking to surprise the Class 1A Evergreen Conference and contend with perennial powers Hoquiam and Montesano.

“There are some powerhouses in this league,” Nagel said. “I just want to get these kids as close to their potential as possible.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2017 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Tenino preparing for a blackout when Friday night football returns."