Concord High’s homecoming football game against Manchester Central will be played on its usual Memorial Field home turf. Just not quite in the same way it has in the past.
Originally scheduled for midday Saturday, the school has moved the game up to Friday at 7 p.m. to avoid the adverse weather expected over the weekend. On top of the game-time change, the bleachers are notably gone.
The Tide’s “home” opener was played at National Guard Field in Pembroke earlier this month. Now that bleacher demolition work at Memorial is complete and temporary bleachers have been installed on the site, Concord football is returning to its true home.
Concord athletic director Stephen Largy said it was important to students to bring the game back to its normal site. The temporary ADA-accessible bleachers seat around 300 people total, with the band taking up a considerable portion of those. The city has worked with the school to move some of the other smaller bleachers used around the field to the football field for additional seating.
“It’ll be interesting. I recommend bringing a chair. I mean, we knew with the bleachers coming down in August that was going to be a tight time frame,” he said.
Most everything is ready to go. Additional lighting has been brought in per usual. The scoreboard is running. Band boosters are running concessions under the tent near the tennis courts. The PA system was to be tested on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a group of concerned parents — Melissa Adao-Jefferson, Shana Feeley and Jennifer Diachenko — wrote letters to the Monitor expressing concerns over the current state of Memorial Field and its viability for the whole community.
Their main concerns touched on seating for those in attendance. They added that with no proper press box, poor field lighting and limited parking, the game-day experience at Memorial Field will be subpar at best.
“Homecoming should be one of the biggest nights of the year for Concord High School students, athletes, families and the community. Instead, everyone attending is reminded of how inadequate Memorial Field has become,” wrote Diachenko in her letter.
They believe the school could still do more to offer additional accommodations for fans. More importantly, they know that football season is short-lived and seniors don’t have a do-over.
“Our football players continue to show up and put in the work despite the construction and the changes surrounding their season. Their families and community should be given a reasonable opportunity to show up for them as well,” wrote Adao-Jefferson.
Largy said the calculus for seating arrangements was made to ensure the best experience for student-athletes, the band and the student fans who will be behind one end zone.
Seating options for the public were up in the air just a month ago, so now that the school has some, their priority is to give it to those who need it most while ensuring the safety of their students. Keeping the band in the bleachers was decided to be safest for those students while giving them the appropriate game-day experience, he said.
In terms of what to expect going into Friday night’s game, Concord (2-1) is heating up. After losing to Windham, the Crimson Tide went on the road and bashed Alvirne, 37-7, than traveled to Salem and stuck out a tough win, 28-19.
Concord took advantage of Salem’s bye-week break and came out of the gate with high energy. Colin Savard was the star that game, carrying the Tide to victory with 194 yards and two touchdowns.
Central (2-1) is coming off of a tough loss to Londonderry, 33-12. It took care of business against Spaulding and Goffstown to open the year and is in a similar spot as the Crimson Tide.
Its defense held both the Red Raiders and Grizzlies to just a touchdown each, and Concord will need to find a way to break through if Central can plug up the run game in the trenches.
Despite the lessened home field advantage, Concord has a big opportunity to make a big statement against the Little Green on Friday.