Georgiana High School, Georgiana, AL

Sign to Georgiana High School

     Georgiana High School was a school I barely happened to stop by.  I was on my way to Mobile, and told my buddy that I was finally finished looking at schools.  However, to get back to the interstate I had to take this shortcut road that led me right past the stadium.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
     Georgiana is a Single-A school in the Alabama High School Athletic Association w/ a daily average enrollment of 110.  I've seen where Georgiana is a 7th-12th grade school with an enrollment of around 250 but there is not much information out there about this high school.  However, Georgiana, AL is the home of Hank Williams.

Home stands

     This is one of the neater set of home stands that I've seen on my trips.  I love the layout, that they stretch the whole length of the field.  It's a very old field and its evident by the buildings and press box in the background.  But to me that's what gives it character and one of the reasons I enjoy traveling around finding jewels like this.

Visitors stands

     These are the visitor stands and again a very old structure, complete with the rickety press box which gives it even more character.  There's a huge grass lot right behind these bleachers, I'm sure this is one of the easiest drive in, watch the game and drive out times that visiting fans ever have.  (I know that sentence doesn't make much sense grammatically, but you get the point).  It's obvious from the pictures that the team was practicing.  In the photo of the home stands you can see two ladies sitting up on the bleachers.  I had a conversation with them about the team, and they were happy to have someone come out and take pictures of their boys.  I'm not sure If they quite understood what I was doing there, but I enjoy talking to people I meet along my journey. 

End zone shot of the stadium

Scoreboard 

Home stands press box

New concessions facitlity

       I was thrilled when I passed by the sign to Georgiana High School, and it was even neater when I found out Hank Williams Sr. had lived there.  I couldn't find out if he went to high school here, but I did read that he got into a fight with his physical education coach, and after the board did not suspend the coach he and his family moved to Montgomery, AL.  The football team may not be that great, but they do play in one sweet, old school stadium.   

Westside High School, Anderson, SC

Westside High School Rams

      Westside High School is the crosstown rival of TL Hanna High School.  They play at Westside Stadium (formally known as District 5 Stadium).  Although their success on the football field hasn't been great recently, they play in one of my favorite stadiums.  TL Hanna and Westside start and finish their seasons with each other.  The first game does not count in the region standings but the last game of the year does.  Westside is in the 4-A classification of the SCHSL.  

 

Home stands

      The home stands are concrete with metal bleachers on top, which is probably the best look, in my eyes, for a high school stadium.  It adds more character and its more sturdy.  The stadium is built into a hill and you walk down into the seats which is also pretty cool because you're able to see the game while walking to your seats.  On the bottom level of the press box there are restrooms and a concessions area.  This picture was taken from the walkway at the entrance gates to the visitors side of the field.

Visitor stands

     The visitors stands are oddly configured with only 3/4 of the hill covered in concrete bleachers (I'm guessing they left the other hill open for children to play on, because I know I did when I was a child since Hanna and Westside shared this stadium for quite some time).  There are bathroom and concessions areas for the visitors in the those two buildings behind the stands.  For the visiting fans you can't walk below the stands and get to your seats but you can walk through the stands or down from above.

Scoreboard with scrolling message board

Ticket gates

     I'm not a Westside fan at all, but these next few pictures show why I think this setting makes Westside Stadium one of my favorites.

View from walk way to visitors side of the field

View from end zone

     I couldn't back up enough to get both sides in the picture, but you understand what I'm trying to do here.  I love stadiums that are built in a bowl.  To me it adds to the atmosphere, the lights shine brighter and everything just seems more intense.  I'd never pull for Westside, but the stadium was always fun to go to once a year for tailgating and fun times. 

TL Hanna High School, Anderson, SC

TL Hanna High School Yellow Jackets

      *** Click on the pictures for a better resolution, I'm not sure what happened for these to be so blurry***

      TL Hanna is located several miles from my house and it is where my father went to high school.  Growing up I went to TL Hanna football games over at what is now Westside High Schools football stadium, formally known as District 5 Stadium.  After a student died a little over 10 years ago, her family donated money for TL Hanna to build a new football stadium at the new campus.  It's a gorgeous stadium and in my high school years it was always fun to go to games because Rafael Little was the RB (eventually signed w/ Kentucky, then was with the Tennessee Titans for a while and is now playing in the CFL).  TL Hanna is also home of 'Radio', the lovable guy who still roams the hallways and leads the team out onto the field before every game.  I will go into some more detail about him later.  Enjoy!

Home stands

     The home stands are unique because the bottom half that is built into the hill are cement with metal seats, and the top half are completely metal bleachers.  You can walk up from the bottom or in through the middle entrances.  There is a press box as you can see, and on top of the press box there are spaces for coaches to stand and watch the game.  It spans the entire length of the field.

View from teachers parking lot

Visitors stands

     The visitors stands don't exactly span the length of the field but come close to doing so.  The can either be accessed from the bottom of the bleachers or the middle which is something I think is really nice at any football stadium.  Other than that, they are just your standard metal bleachers.  There are areas behind both the home and visitors stands for students to hang out which is nice.

Scoreboard

     This is a standard high school scoreboard with everything you need when watching the game.  There are game clock boards in both end zones which is a nice touch as well.

Close-up of the ticket gates

Wide shot of the ticket gates

Statue of James 'Radio' Kennedy 

     Radio was a young man when he started hanging around football practice back in the '60s.  He was allowed to ride on the bus to away games, and attended all practices.  He has been going to school at TL Hanna since then and has become a fixture at the school.  There was a movie made about Radio in 2004 and it starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Harris.  He got the name Radio from the transistor radio he would carry around with him wherever he went.

Front of the high school

     I hope you enjoy one of my hometown high schools and the school that I rooted for growing up.  It is a great place to watch a football game and even going to one home game just to see radio is a show in itself.

Vestavia Hills High School, Birmingham, AL

Vestavia Hills Rebels

     I visited Vestavia Hills High School while visiting my sister at Samford University.  Tonya was along for this trip as well and these pictures are from her camera.  Vestavia is in the 6-A classification of Alabama sports and has an enrollment around 1,250 (which seems small for a 6A school, however the smallest enrollment for a 6A school in Alabama is 744).  There are a lot of medium sized high schools located in Alabama, you would think there would be a better way to split up the largest division, but nothing can be perfect (not saying Vestavia shouldn't be in 6A, but 744 seems small for the largest classification). Vestavia is located right outside Birmingham on the mountain (or large hills if-you-will).  It is a gorgeous community and a great looking high school from an aesthetic point of view.

Home stands

      The home stands are pretty neat in my opinion, except for the fact that there is no middle entrance to the stands.  It is pretty large and the VH blue and red seats in the middle are a unique touch.  The press box is great and I'm sure there are concessions and bathrooms on the bottom level.  The stadium sort of sits in this valley up against the side of the hill where the home stands are located and it has the feeling of a great atmosphere when that place is full.

Visitors stands

     The visitors stands compliment the home stands very well.  It is shorter but the same width, which to me is the way it should be.  There are plenty of seats available for the bigger schools coming in, although I'm sure it looks pretty empty when the smaller schools come to visit.  Also I'm sure it is pretty intimidating to be standing over on the visiting sidelines looking up at that home side (the home side sitting on a hill has a daunting effect and makes it seem huge).  I love the field goal posts with the double support, it's kind of old school.  The entrance is great and if I remember correctly there are also entrance gates on the visitors side.  The lights are supported by big metal poles and they aren't just situated on the sidelines of the field but also along the corners of the field.
     There are a few more stadiums from Birmingham that I will profile in the coming weeks: Hoover, Wenonah and Mountain Brook.  I'm hoping to get in John Carroll Catholic High School at some point.  I loved taking a look at Vestavia Hills, not only because it's a great high school football stadium, but it's also a great town.    

The Westfield School, Perry, GA

The Westfield School Hornets

     I came across The Westfield School on a trip to south Georgia.  I was able to get in because the softball coach was there cleaning up the field, normally the gate is shut, so I got lucky and was able to take a few pictures before he left.  The school itself is very pretty and is located in Perry, Ga. (I will be profiling Perry High School in a few days). The Westfield School has an enrollment of 570 students (PK-12) and is a 3-A member of the Georgia Independent Schools Association.

Home stands

    The neat thing about this stadium is that the stands are wooden.  I'm not sure if the whole thing is made of only wood, but a large portion of it is.  It is a smaller stadium, but that is fine for a smaller school, especially when the visitors stands are just as big.  The added hedges around the field give it a nice touch.  I'm wondering if they were just recently planted or they trim them back to keep it shorter (I'd like to see them a little taller; maybe thats just the Georgia fan coming out in me).  The press box is a really good size and gives coaches plenty of room to observe the game from above (although one set of coaches are probably in the same room with the radio team if there is one).  Overall it is a very nice set of stands for the home fans.

Visitors stands, and Tonya doing the Heisman pose (or something like it haha)

     Very standard set of bleachers for the visiting fans.  No press box, which is a deviation from several of the previous stadiums profiled, but it is plenty of room for fans to mingle around and spread out.  It is a decent walk over to the other side of the stadium, and there are no concessions located near them.  Another noticeable characteristic of this stadium are the wooden poles that the lights are on.  That's a first for the blog!

Great scoreboard, and wonderful support from a lot of local businesses

Back of the home stands, and concessions area

     I was very glad that the softball coach was at the school when I drove by, it was right off the road I was traveling and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few pictures.  It was very interesting to see the wood-look of this stadium and it's always fun to get the chance to get out there on the field.

Luverne School, Luverne, AL

Luverne School (formerly Luverne High School Tigers)

Luverne School was supposed to be the last stadium I visited on the way to Mobile in May, but then I hit up Brantley High School and Georgiana High School. Luverne houses PK-12 with a total enrollment of 1040 students, which puts it in the 3-A Alabama classification.  I have a lot of pictures of this little stadium, and it is situated right inside the high school grounds.  It's actually a pretty sweet location even though it is a small stadium.

Home stands (I'm assuming)

     I am assuming that these are the home stands since they are newer and the press box is named.  The visitors stands have a larger press box, but older, smaller stands.  The building to the left is the end of the schools gym and the walk way from the entrance over to the home stands is very small, but it puts you right in the action.  Very cool in my book.

Picture of the whole stadium

     In this view, my back is straight against the wall of the school.  Like I mentioned earlier, the walkway is very small, but it puts you right on the field.   Also these stands are extremely close to the field, assuming that both squads are not very big and cheerleading squads are small, you will be up close and personal watching a football game at Luverne School.

Visitors side of the stadium

    I'm guessing this is the former home side of the stadium judging by the pressbox, because what small school would have two press boxes unless they switched sides (Which seems to be a common thread in the stadiums I have visited, maybe the new thing now is to have a press box on both sides of the field, but I've only encountered that in small town stadiums not in the larger stadiums.  Which makes me think that the schools has switched the sides around).  This is set up very nice for the visiting fans, although it is spread out, it allows the fans to sit behind where ever their son probably stands for most of the game.  It is also closer to the entrance than the home side is.

Entrance to the stadium

Nice record of state champs and state runner up, should be due any time now for that next state championship.   The team is also in class 3-A now.

Scoreboard, I love the Tiger on top.  Very unique touch for a basic scoreboard for a small school.

Side of the school

Press box on the home stands

State banners

    I absolutely loved this stadium.  The setting is awesome, where the school is located is pretty neat too.  I would definitely drive down to this part of Alabama again on a Friday night to watch Brantley play and then come back through the next Friday night and watch Luverne play.  Two amazing small town football stadiums that explain why I really love traveling around and visiting stadiums.  Thanks Luverne School for letting me onto the field to take some pictures.

The stadium that started it all. Ratliff Stadium (TX)

     I know its a big picture, but it has to be to describe how gorgeous this stadium is.  This is the stadium Friday Night Lights is centered around, the book, the movie and the television series (though the TV series is not shot here).  After reading the book Friday Night Lights - A Town, A Team, and A Dream, by H.G. Bissinger, I was hooked in finding large high school football stadiums.  Over time my love has evolved to every high school stadium I can find, but it all started with the big ones, and Texas has the biggest and the best.  Allen school district is building an $18 million stadium over the next year that seats 26K people.  Three times bigger than the stadium that my college uses.
     After finding out we would be driving through Texas on my trip this summer I had only one request; to visit Ratliff Stadium.  Home to the Permian Panthers and Odessa Bronchos (yes the spelling is correct).  This place rises out of the flat grounds of Texas and dips into the earth, a wild look when standing in the parking lot.  It seats 22K people and even though it is not filled every Friday night in the fall, most Friday nights it is.  We got very lucky when pulling up to this place because the gates were locked, however a maintenance man was about to leave and was kind enough to let us in for 15 minutes.  The 15 minutes turned into 30 as he told me and my dad stories of games in the 80s and 90s; the hey-day for Permian football.  He had worked there for 45 years and was proud to have been employee of the district.  He let us onto the field to take pictures and told us how crazy it was when they filmed the movie "Friday Night Lights" there.

     This is the visitors side of the stadium.  Nothing very special about it, except it holds more than the average high school stadium holds.  There are concession stands and bathrooms on the other side.  But I imagine it is pretty hot sitting over there in the hot Texas fall.  The outside of the stadium is lined in trees and it looks pretty neat, giving it almost a circular arena.

     This is the home side of the stadium.  Same structure as the visitors except for the large press box sitting on top.  This side, just like the visitors holds about 11K people.  It has 'bowl-like' entrances which means you enter in the middle and either go up or go down.  Concessions and restrooms are located behind the seats.

     Another thing I did not mention in the New Braunfels HS post is that the one other thing I love to look at when I visit high school stadiums is the scoreboards.  Ratliff Stadium has a great one.  In one endzone there is a videoboard/scoreboard, and on the other just a plain scoreboard.  That is very rare for most high school stadiums, but since this one is so big it is necessary.

 

     It was truly amazing to be able to visit Ratliff Stadium.  I've loved it ever since I finished the book about 8 years ago and I never thought I would be able to get out to Texas and enjoy seeing this monster.  It was also great to get to talk to someone who had been there for everything I had read and heard about Permian football and the town of Odessa.  There are two more pictures I am going to share with you.  One is just of a parking lot.  The maintenance guy told me that when they filmed the movie, that the parking lot was full of RV's and movie crews and make shift concession stands and all of that stuff that tags along to a movie scene.  The other picture is of the back side of the home stands.  It is a pretty neat view of the press box and the RV I traveled in that summer.  Hope you enjoyed the post, and check back soon for more pictures and stories of stadiums I've visited throughout my travels.

New Braunfels High School Unicorns (TX)

The first stadium I will blog about is New Braunfels HS in New Braunfels, TX.

And yes, that is a Unicorn on the sign for NBHS. As my family and I were driving through Texas this summer we randomly passed by here and as soon as I saw that the stadium name was Unicorn Stadium, we had to stop. I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated for Kids many years ago about strange high school nicknames, and I'm pretty sure this might have been on there.
The stadium is built out of metal, and looks like your basic high school football stadium. Both the home and visitor sides are of equal length with the home side having a press box built on top. There was a decent amount of parking behind the visitors section, but most of the parking was in the actual school parking lot. One neat thing I started to notice about all these stadiums is the way the lights are constructed. To me they look like the tall structures that are built on oil fields that house the machinery used to pump the oil. I've never thought to look at the lights before, but during this trip most of the schools utilized this feature. It may be the way all across the nation. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled next time I pass by a stadium.
Another feature of the high school football stadium I like to look at is the entrance, which includes the section where tickets are taken up and the fans enter the field. This particular stadium had a tiny ticket booth, which to me is classic. It's old school and that's what I love to see. It doesn't match very well with the modern look of this stadium, so it definitely stands out.
**This entrance may be a former entrance, and tickets could be taken up at the gate in the background, but there were windows on that little brick building.
One thing I find hilarious about this picture is the hoof prints leading into the gates. They seriously have some Unicorn pride, which they should for such a unique mascot.
The reason for stopping by this stadium was not because of the uniqueness of the structure, and it was not even one of my planned stops but after seeing the mascot name I knew we had to make a special stop to snap a few photos of this high school.
Here are some more photos: