For some of the players on the field for this Saturday’s 1:00pm pre-season jamboree contest between Jonesboro-Hodge High School and St. Frederick’s of Monroe it may be the first time of many to come that they will get to play on a college football field. For others it may be the only time. Rest assured, they will all remember it as being a hot field.
While extended weather predictions show that the high temperature on Saturday should be around 90 degrees the temperature of the artificial playing surface at Raymond Malone Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) will be well above one hundred.
“We have been practicing in much hotter conditions than what is expected, so I hope the guys are prepared for the heat,” said JHHS head coach Terrance Blankenship. “We expect to see players cramping up though as the surface will be hot and just ramping up to game speed always causes muscles to get tight.
Regardless the Tigers are eager to get the 2021 football season underway.
“It seems like it took forever to get here but it is finally upon us,” said Blankenship. “We’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a year. It’s time to play some football.”
