‘Sid Otton Field’ will be dedicated to beloved coach before football game Friday

Make sure to get to Tumwater District Stadium early Friday night.

Before the Tumwater High School football program hosts Bellevue, the school will unveil the newest piece of its field — a title.

“Sid Otton Field,” named in honor of the program’s legendary coach who retired last season, will be dedicated to its namesake just before kickoff. The short ceremony will begin promptly at 6:45 p.m., Tumwater athletic director Tim Graham said.

The field name, written in white lettering on the southwest corner of the field, was installed along with new synthetic turf during the summer.

A statue that was made in Otton’s honor, and presented to him at retirement celebration in January, was installed near the ticket booth this week. It will also be unveiled during Friday’s ceremony.

Otton retired last season, following his 27th state-playoff appearance with the T-Birds. He won five of his six state titles at Tumwater.

His high school coaching career began in 1967, and took him to three schools (Coupeville, Colfax and Tumwater) in Washington state. He retired in November as the state’s all-time winningest high school football coach, with a career record of 394-131.

Otton will be inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s hall of fame next spring, the organization announced in June.

Friday’s ceremony is expected to shortly delay kickoff, Graham said. He estimated the game will begin about 7:10 p.m.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "‘Sid Otton Field’ will be dedicated to beloved coach before football game Friday."