John Clayton
Donny Pittman lines the field at Blue Ridge High School. A team of volunteers spray paint and line the field Wednesday night for Friday home games.
John Clayton
Donny Pittman, left, and A.J. Austin begin work on the Tigers' midfield logo.
John Clayton
The finished product of the Blue Ridge logo is ready for another home game.
Before each varsity home game, the volunteers spend their Wednesday evenings lining the field and spray painting the Tigers logo at midfield.
“From start to finish, it takes us about six hours,” said Donny Pittman. “It takes us about four hours to do the Tiger head.” They will prepare the field this week for the final regular season game when Pickens comes to Blue Ridge for a 7;30 p.m. game.
The red, black and white roaring-tiger logo is 15 yards long by 15 yards in width and is usually laid down with a stencil. After that, the field still has to be lined and the hash marks are put down.
Blue Ridge head coach Wade Cooper said the volunteer work is much appreciated by the team and the coaching staff.
“It’s something we don’t have to pay somebody to do,” Cooper said. “We’re thankful to have people like that who support our program.”
Pittman is a Blue Ridge alumnus whose son, Chris, plays on the varsity team, and wife, Cynthia, is part of the volunteer group working on the field each Wednesday before home games.
With five home games, the volunteer group of about six members gives a total of 180 hours to the field work.
“Without people getting out here and working like this, it probably wouldn’t get done,” said A.J. Austin, a former coach with the Blue Ridge C and D teams who said the new job “feels a void” each week.
In addition to the Pittmans and Austin, the group of volunteers includes David Thompson, Marty Cobb, Ben Morgan, Dave Yerick and Eddie Kenealy.
“When you show up on Friday nights and the lights come on, it really makes that Tiger head jump off the field,” Pittman said.