Synthetic Turf Taking Shape at Blake Smiley Stadium Sunday Night

Posted Date: 09/01/2019

The football stadium at Alumni Field officially took the name of the former head coach Blake Smiley on Sept. 11 of 2015. Smiley tallied eight district titles on his way to the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame induction in 1994. Today (Sept. 1), crews began installing the first synthetic field turf that surface has ever seen. 

The school board voted last spring to make those surface improvements to the football gridiron. It will also include the expansion to an eight-lane track.

The 2019 football Wildcats are led by head coach Todd Vargas. This is Vargas’ second season at the helm. Vargas graduated from Madill High School and played under Smiley. Vargas arrived from Altus in 2018 where he was serving as the head coach. He was the defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs during the 2015 season in which Altus captured the Class 5A state championship. Madill kicks off the regular season Sept. 6 at Sulphur.

See the attached video of crew beginning to install synthetic turf on Sunday (Sept. 1) night.