CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Clarion legends played on that patch of ground in that stadium, nestled among rows of trees down a steep hill behind the high school.
Big games were won — far more than lost. Championships were claimed. Memories were made.
Voices of fans screaming in full throat and the notes played passionately by the band rose and echoed throughout the stadium.
On the night of a particularly important game, fans circled that field, shoulder to shoulder. Some even spilled onto the sidelines. It was cramped, but it was a special place to view a football game.
And to play one.
“We didn’t really want to leave that field,” said former longtime Clarion Area football coach Larry Wiser.
Circumstances forced first Clarion and then Central Clarion to play its home football games at Clarion University, as well as at Clarion-Limestone when that co-op was formed.
Now, thanks to renovations to that field and the infrastructure, football will be back at Clarion High School again this season.
Central Clarion football coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Fittingly it will carry the name “Wiser Field,” which was announced this week, after the coach who won 238 games with the Bobcats and then the Wildcats.
When Central Clarion takes that field on Sept. 1 against Port Allegany, it will be the first varsity football game there since 2003.
Wiser remembers well the atmosphere during some of those big games before moving to the university.
“We got the lights and what a difference that made with the crowds,” Wiser said. “We could play Friday nights instead of in the afternoons on Saturday. The field was ringed with fans and the stands were full.”
It was no easy endeavor getting the field ready for varsity football again.
New bleachers and a press box were installed on the home side — the handicap access ramp is still not completed, but will be by Sept. 1.
There’s a new concession stand and bathroom facility, which is almost complete. A new scoreboard, grass field and drainage was also put in.
“I’m excited for our guys just to have that atmosphere here that we get at (Clarion-Limestone), too,” said Central Clarion head football coach Dave Eggleton. “It’s a high school football atmosphere. You don’t have that at (PennWest Clarion) stadium. We can put 3,000 people in that stadium and it still doesn’t look full.”
Eggleton played some big games on that field as a visitor when he played for Clarion-Limestone in the early 2000s.
“You had to part the crowd to get the players on the field for the game,” Eggleton said. “It was crowded the whole way around the field. It was loud. We’re gonna have the bands in the end zones and they’re gonna be loud. I’m excited. I’m excited to have that atmosphere, not only for our football players, but for the band, the cheerleaders, the dance team — the whole Friday night experience.”
Central Clarion has two home games scheduled on the new field: Sept. 1 against Port Allegany and Oct. 13 against DuBois.
The Wildcats’ other two home games this season — Sept. 22 against Bradford and Oct. 20 against St. Marys — will be played at Clarion-Limestone.
Wiser will be honored at the Sept. 1 game against Port Allegany as the stadium will officially be named “Wiser Field” that night.
“This place is gonna fill up for those two games here,” Eggleton said. “Sept. 1 is the first home game of the season and I think they’re doing a big alumni night and, of course, celebrating coach Wiser. I’m excited for him. He had a big role in my coaching career, coaching under him before I went to C-L. I learned how to be successful as a head coach from him. It’s a truly well-deserved honor.”
Central Clarion football coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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