GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — The excitement is certainly building here on the gridiron in West Michigan as it is the first week of high school football in the state.
However, one local school is pumped for more than just the return of games.
Rory Zegunis is entering his third year as the Kenowa Hills head coach. This season is different from the first two: his Knights have a brand new turf field.
"We've been out here for a week or two, and it's amazing," Zegunis said. "It's a game changer so we are very fortunate, very thankful for the community for supporting the cause here and I think everyone is going to really enjoy it. The first day we were able to come down here and use it, there was definitely a little pep in their step and a little excitement. You just go on it and it makes you feel good. Makes you want to play hard."
It is state of the art with a brand new track surrounding the once grass field and a big video board. Everything cost over 1 million dollars.
The Knights were already motivated to play football this year, and this turf adds an additional level of eagerness to hit the field.
"It's awesome," Kenowa Hills senior linebacker Sutton Tutas said. "Way better than the grass field we had before. It is really awesome to be out here on it. Everybody is going to want to see it and see us play on it. We want to put on a show for them."
The Knights play at Fruitport on Thursday night, but their first game on the new field will be next week against Greenville.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.