Knoch stadium renovation takes away home football games for 2022 season
JEFFERSON TWP — With artificial turf coming to Knoch Stadium, the Knights football team will spend the 2022 season getting acclimated to playing on such a surface.
They just won’t be doing so at home.
With the turf installation scheduled to begin Sept. 6 at Knoch and not end until November, the Knights will play all 10 of their regular season games on the road this season.
“Not an ideal situation, but we’re making the best of it,” first-year Knoch head coach Tim Burchett said. “This is unique. The kids are looking at it as a challenge. I love the attitude and approach they’re taking.”
Knoch originally had five home games on the schedule this year. Instead of hosting Beaver Falls and Deer Lakes, the Knights will now play those teams on the road. Home games against Elizabeth-Forward Sept. 23 and Valley Oct. 28 will now be played at Art Bernardi Stadium in Butler.
The Knights’ homecoming game — Oct. 7 against Shady Side Academy — will now be played at Deer Lakes. A homecoming dance will likely be held at Knoch and “other details surrounding homecoming still need to be worked out,” Knoch athletic director Kurt Reiser said.
Senior Night will be the Oct. 28 game at Butler.
“We’re fortunate in that some of our games aren’t so far away,” Burchett said. “One of our games is at Freeport, right down the road. We’re confident people will still come out and support our team.
“I’ve seen the prospectus for the new field. It’s going to be gorgeous. We’ll be able to host playoff games. The benefits this will give the school district down the road will be more than worth what we go through this season.”
Reiser agrees.
“Coach Burchett sold this to the kids the right way,” Reiser said. “Other teams will benefit from our turf field. Soccer, Little League, softball, peewee football, all of those things. This will make a big difference in our community.
“This all goes back to the school improvement bond from last spring. This project is part of that. This was the time frame we had to get this field done. I feel badly for our seniors. I know it’s rough on them, but they understand it.”
Knoch will continue to practice in the open field next to its stadium. Freeport will play host to some Knoch soccer games this fall.
“I reached out and contacted those schools,” Reiser said of Butler, Deer Lakes and Freeport. “I can’t say enough about how helpful they’ve been. They’ve been very cooperative with us.”
Knoch senior tight end-linebacker Jake Murphy admitted that this season “will feel a little different. It will be strange not being able to play a game in this stadium during my last year.
“But we’re still playing football.”
And they’re still representing their high school.
“We won’t be playing games at Knoch, but they will still be Knoch games,” senior lineman Matt Carney said. “The community will still be in the stands supporting us no matter where we play. I’m confident of that.”
