Steve Goodbody came up with the idea, and much like the game of football it could become a trend.
The Salinas High head football coach thought that pushing up their Week 1 game against Aptos — a team they will be facing for the third straight year on opening week — would be a great idea.
“We hope to get a big crowd,” Goodbody said. “In my opinion, I’m pretty biased but there’s no better place to play than the Pit. So when we get an opportunity to show off our program and the job Randy does at Aptos is outstanding and we love going against those great programs.”
If it's anything like the previous two years when these two faced off not only will there be a great crowd but a fun exciting close game to boot. Aptos has gotten the better of Salinas in both contests winning 17-12 last year and 21-14 in Salinas two years ago.
“This worked out real well between (Aptos High) coach (Randy) Blankenship and I,” Goodbody said. “We’ve had a great rivalry between our two ball clubs and are looking forward to a great one Thursday night.”
Not only will Thursday night's game be fun because it features two really good programs but will give one of those rare instances during a football season where it will only be one game at one location. The aptly titled Salinas field sits inches below the first row of bleachers making the crowd noise bare right on top of both teams.
“I love it, the closer the better,” Blankenship said of coaching at The Pit. “The stadiums that have no track around them are really intimate stadiums and it’s how football should be played.”
Along with how Blankenship mentioned the intimate feel of The Pit it puts pressure on both teams to do because if you don't you'll hear about it.
“If you have rabbit ears as a coach, you’re going to have an issue,” Goodbody said. “(Fans) are right there and it keeps the focus going and there’s always a lot of energy at The Pit both ways.”
Not only does Thursday's game mean the official kickoff to the 2016 season for the Central Coast Section but it's something unique that will draw a lot of attention. It gives players, coaches and fans from other teams a chance to gather at one of the best football venues the CCS has to offer to enjoy, scout and prepare for what's ahead for at the very minimum the next 11 weeks. When you throw in two really good teams that have developed a rather new and fun rivalry everybody wins.
“We welcome the chance to show off in front of everybody else,” Blankenship said.
What will be shown off is the idea of Goodbody that could become the norm for some teams over the years. Blankenship, who is about to start his 42nd year of coaching, wasn't sure of the whole dynamic of starting the year on a Thursday night but was convinced when Goodbody sold him the idea.
“Steve approached me about it and I was a bit hesitant at first,” Blankenship said. “But the more he explained it the better it sounded. I explained it to the kids as we’re kind of the CCS football kickoff classic."
“We’re excited about it,” Blankenship said.
Throughout his four-plus decades as a coach Blankenship has coached in leagues where playing on Thursday was just as normal as playing on Friday's and Saturday's. It's going to be an adjustment playing tomorrow night but Blankenship couldn't pass up the opportunity it gave his team.
“For our kids to have the spotlight against a really good team in a very intimate environment it's going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “I hope we are up for the challenge.”
As for seeing if Aptos will do the same thing next year when Salinas visits them again, Blankenship wasn't ready to commit to keeping this Thursday night affair going.
“I don’t know we’ll see how things turn out,” Blankenship said. “The Pit is an extroadinary place, it’s really close confines so I’m glad Steve made the decision. The kids are going to have to play the game Thursday and we’ll see what happens.”
Sounds like a lot of fun for Salinas, Aptos and everyone else who will be at The Pit tomorrow night.
