Even though the Eagles did not advance to the playoffs, football in Watonga isn’t over.
Eagle Field is the site of the Class C 8-man semi-final game between Waynoka and Mountain View-Gotebo. Kick off is at 7 p.m. Friday.
Watonga Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran said the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activity Association sent out an email seeking stadiums for various playoff games. The sites, it was hoped, would be equidistant from either competitor, and the fields were required to have artificial turf.
“Because it’s (Eagle Stadium) artificial turf, and we have the jumbotron, they wanted to use our field,” Hilterbran said.
There are advantages to the town and the school to host the event, Hilterbran said. “We have two different communities coming to our town to eat and shop, and maybe buy fuel. Then the school gets the concessions and a percentage of the gate.” He said the newly finished field could also be tapped for the finals, depending on where the competing schools are.
The Watonga High School broadcasting class will run the jumbotron equipment and the school will also provide the security team, gate and concession personnel.
The state championship team in Class C will be played Friday, Dec. 2 between the winner of the Waynoka-Mountain View Game and the winner of the Tipton-Timberlake game.