Seeing the light, Marmion salutes Friday night football

It's hard to figure out who's coming and going this football season. And when.

First, there's the NFL, which opened its season on a Thursday night and capped Week 1 with a Monday Night doubleheader.

College football is all over the scheduling map. Literally. Pick almost any night of the week, and there's a college football game going on. A few them still play on Saturdays. Maybe that's when all the other teams go to class.

It gets even stranger. On Friday, West Aurora won a DuPage Valley Conference game for the first time in three years. Then, last night, Marmion plays a home game under the lights.

What in the wide world of sports is goin' on?

Night football at Marmion? What's next? College football invading the high school stage by scheduling games on Friday nights?

Oh, that's right. The NCAA has already trampled the high schools' rite. Too bad, too. Once upon a time, each level was an entity onto itself. Friday nights were the domain of high school football. Colleges owned the day on Saturday, a sweet fall tradition. The NFL took over on Sunday, with Monday Night Football the cherry that topped a great football weekend.

But the lines of distinction have clearly been muddled. So it's exciting news that Marmion is going old-school and joining the tradition that makes high school football so special.

Last night's light show was a precursor to a brighter future. After 40 years of playing Saturday afternoon games at the Marmion campus on Butterfield Road, the Cadets will eventually join the Friday night fraternity.

Though the funds for permanent lighting have not yet been earmarked, the sentiment is there, running the gamut from parents, faculty, alumni, the Marmion community -- and the Suburban Catholic Conference.

"We envision Friday night football coming to Marmion soon," Marmion athletic director Joe Chivari said. "High school football should be played under the lights. Playing on Friday is a great way to end the school week and provides an opportunity for the community to come together."

Since its last night game in 1967 -- the final year that Marmion held games at a lighted athletic field on Aurora's west side -- the Cadets have played Saturday matinees at home. While sunny, fall afternoons rate as the year's most pleasurable weather, the daytime atmosphere just doesn't pack the same electricity and excitement.

When Marmion rebuilt its football stadium (Fichtel Field) two years ago, the wiring was put in place for permanent light stands. It's all part of an extensive, $4.5 million renovation plan that will overhaul all the school's athletic facilities.

Chivari said real discussion on installing lights began about the time he took over as AD eight years ago. Wishful thinking started long before. I can recall fans longing for lights during my brother's playing days at Marmion in the early 1980s.

But now, finally, Saturday afternoon games may soon become a thing of the past in the SCC. Aurora Central joined the night club in 2003, wiring up permanent lights after several years of experimenting with temporary structures. Marian is the other SCC school which already has lights.

St. Francis flips the switch next year. Driscoll has its lights ready but just needs the poles and wiring. St. Ed, recently denied a permit by the City of Elgin, will continue in its efforts to illuminate Friday nights.

By staging the first night game ever on the Butterfield campus, Marmion gave boosters what they wanted -- a taste for what night football is like on their home turf.

"I don't want to say "demand," but there's been some enthusiasm for playing under the lights," Chivari said. "These (temporary lights) aren't ideal, but they provide a feeling of what the atmosphere will be like."

Fortunately, schools like Marmion are moving in the right direction. Friday nights in the fall belong to high school football. There's nothing quite like that shining stadium full of community energy, gathered at the end of a busy school week to celebrate as one with the local team.

College football is chipping away at those cherished hometown traditions. The National Federation of State High School Associations is fighting this troubling trend, but when TV money talks, the local argument is seemingly drowned out.

That soapbox issue will only get bigger, and provides fodder for a future rumble in this space. And there's no shortage of high school coaches who will rally behind the cause. But for now, it's nice to celebrate small victories. For every college that shamelessly attempts to steal the Friday night spotlight, there are schools like Marmion and conferences like the SCC that are pushing back.

"We're going to go with Friday night football," Chivari said. "It's on the front burner now."

Light 'em up.