Berkshire football: Badgers christen new field with win over Crestwood
Sep. 24—Josh Brown knew he and his teammates were rewriting Berkshire football history on Sept. 23. He just didn't know he'd have a chapter all to himself.
With a four-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against visiting Crestwood, Brown became the first player to score a touchdown in Great Lakes Cheese Stadium, Berkshire's brand-spanking-new football home.
The touchdown was a harbinger of things to come, as the Badgers notched their fourth straight win via a 42-8 thrashing of the visiting Red Devils.
"When my teammates and I are all grown up, our kids are going to be playing on this field," Brown said. "We'll be able to say we played the first game here. That's definitely something to share and something I'll be able to tell my son about someday."
The trek to Game 1 at Great Lakes Cheese Stadium hasn't been an easy one. Berkshire's first two home games — vs. Trinity on Sept. 2 and vs. Independence on Sept. 16 — were moved to Chardon and Hiram College, respectively, as electrical work at the stadium was being completed. The Week 6 game against Crestwood was in limbo, too, until the final electrical piece was delivered at 1 p.m. on game day. Had that delivery not taken place, Berkshire's game likely would have been moved to Chardon again.
"We found out about 1 o'clock that we were a go," Athletic Director Brian Hiscox said. "It was all-hand-on-deck. Everybody stepped up and things ran smoothly for a first event at a facility."
Hiscox said a few other stadium products still remain, including the concession stand, locker rooms and restroom facilities, but that all should be done by the next home game Oct. 14 against Beachwood.
"There was a different energy around the school all week," Coach Josh DeWeese said. "We talked to the guys before going out on the field that there will be nerves and everyone will be amped up, but at the end of the day we still have a game to play. We couldn't let the hype stand in the way of handling our business."
The Badgers spread the wealth in the dominating win. Miles Miller ran for 107 yards and threw for 116, including two touchdown runs. Jack Hastings scored on a blocked punt return and on a touchdown reception, and Brown scored twice — the opening touchdown on the ground and the capping touchdown on a 23-yard reception from Miller.
"We got the ball around to everybody," DeWeese said. "It was an all-around good game. All three phases were clicking."
Four, if you count the frenzied crowd of 1,000 or more.
The win on the new home field left everyone hungry for more. They'll have to wait until Week 9 for that, though.
"To get that win was amazing," Brown said. "It means a lot to us. We've been waiting for this for a while. We finally got out there and we executed. It was amazing."
