NewsOK.com by Scott Wright
In this photo from The Oklahoman archives, Millwood’s D’Juan Woods tries to run out of the tackle of Star Spencer’s Mathew Gates. Taken from near ground level, the photo illustrates how significant the crown on the field at Carl Twidwell Stadium was, blocking the view of the lower legs of the players on the far sideline.
SPENCER — Every day when James Harding left work at Star Spencer High School, he’d look across the street at his football field. And every day, it seemed the pile of dirt was getting higher and higher.
Dirt-movers were flattening the ground at Carl Twidwell Stadium, and if you’ve never seen a game there, you should know that’s a significant change — and a pretty big job.
The crown in the middle of the field used to be so high that when you stood on one sideline, you couldn’t see the knees of the people standing across from you.
Harding, the Bobcats’ head coach, hasn’t yet stepped foot on the newly flattened field, with top-of-the-line grass awaiting his team’s first game. But his anticipation is tangible.
The dirt work was the first round of several athletic projects in the works at Star. Between the Fields and Futures organization, the Wes Welker Foundation, and Oklahoma City Public Schools, Star Spencer has been able to make multiple needed improvements to its facilities.
That included a sprinkler system on its practice field and air conditioning in the weight room, which also got new equipment.
Harding has been in the coaching business long enough that he’s heard plenty of promises from booster clubs or potential donors about improvements they want to make, but this work has been a pleasant surprise.
“We all know what the economic climate is here, and not just in Oklahoma City schools, but the whole state,” Harding said. “To have somebody come in and just do the work, and you don’t have to do anything but watch it happen has been like a dream.”
Currently, the Bobcats’ locker room is at the back of the school, across the street from the stadium, meaning if they want to go inside at halftime of a game, it’s a long hike through the parking lot.
So the eventual plan is to build a gameday locker room next to the field. Baseball and softball will get new fields near the football stadium, and the gravel track will get a real surface.
This year’s football seniors won’t get to enjoy any of the further updates, but they appreciate what’s been done so far. And they’re still a little amazed when they look at their flat field.
“That was a big hill,” senior running back Maalik Livingston said. “It’s nice seeing that it looks like a regular field now.
“It feels good to have the support and the help, to know that you have people who want you to succeed.”