There was a little something extra to celebrate under the Friday night lights at Deane Bozeman School as students, staff and community members officially cut the ribbon on the Bucks’ new AstroTurf football field before the season opener against Taylor County.
The celebration marked the completion of a nearly $1 million investment in the Deane Bozeman campus. The new turf, funded through local capital improvement tax dollars, took approximately seven weeks to install.
The timing made the night especially meaningful for the Bucks. The first game on the new field was also the first for Sean Maddox as Deane Bozeman’s head football coach. Maddox is beginning his first season leading a program that remains an important part of the school and surrounding community.
And fittingly, the future of that program was front and center for the ribbon cutting.
Members of the Deane Bozeman Middle School football team stretched the blue ribbon across the new field, representing the next generation of Bucks who will have the opportunity to practice, compete and make memories on it in the years ahead. New Deane Bozeman Principal Stephanie McLaughlin then did the honors, cutting the ribbon and officially opening the field. McLaughlin began the school year as principal of the K-12 campus, which serves as a hub for families in northern Bay County.
For Superintendent Mark McQueen, the project represented much more than an athletic facility.
“This is an investment in more than a football field; it’s an investment in the Bozeman community,” McQueen said. “This field will serve students and families for years to come, and when you see our middle school players standing alongside our varsity program, you’re reminded exactly who we are building for. ”
The new field features AstroTurf, the same brand used at major athletic venues across the country, including Camping World Stadium in Orlando and the University of West Florida.
From a new principal and a new head coach to a new field beneath their feet, the evening represented a new chapter for Deane Bozeman athletics, while celebrating the strong sense of tradition and community that has long made it great to be a Buck.
