Eagles enjoy special night on new field

Never mind the non-stop falling of the rain. Nothing was going to stop the Aurora Christian community from celebrating the Eagles' brand-new football field Friday night against Rockford Christian Life.

This night was years in the making, and it took less than a year to complete to "vision" coach Don Beebe had of the moment where his Eagles ran out on the school's field for the very first time,

Friday's 62-0 win was more than just a win. It was a night unlike any other in the history of the school.

"Amazing, isn't it?," said Don Davidson, the only athletic director Aurora Christian has ever had. "It's quite a field. Have you seen a high school field like this around here? It's quite thrilling, really."

At 6 p.m., a special dedication took place on the turf, which drained amazingly, despite the rain. The ceremony was full of prayers, reflections and most of all, thanks to the people in the community who contributed, not just money, but time and effort.

An anonymous donor put up $500,000 and asked the rest of the community to match that amount. They did, and $1.5 million dollars later, the field, which could easily be compared to a college field, was ready to be constructed.

"It took a lot of good people to do this," Beebe said.

Beebe's favorite part of the project was the fact that Aurora Christian didn't hire some random company to do their job. Patrons of the school didn't sit back and watch someone else construct this. They used the skills they already had to get the job done.

"It takes that special commitment to get this done, and that makes it so much sweeter when it is done," Beebe said. "To say 'thank you' is underrated."

"Ralph Ubert, Larry Smith, Tom Chase and Chuck Morris, those are the guys who did this project," Davidson added.

In the past, the Eagles had to use other teams' fields, like Mooseheart and East Aurora for their "home" games. Not anymore.

"We've been waiting for this for so long," Aurora Christian senior Jake Van Gilse said. "It's just something special God had provided for us. It's just incredible."

cbolin@dailyherald.com