GLANCE BOX

Today is the last opportunity for Talawanda football fans to get reserved seating for the 2012 varsity football season. Reserved seating is available to the public but the deadline is today with the first game being played tonight.

The backed seats can be purchased at the THS Athletic Office. The cost is for a reserved seat and does not include the price of admission. If paying by check, make checks payable to Talawanda Athletic Boosters.

OXFORD—Much is new about Talawanda High School football in 2012 and much has been written and talked about having a new school, a new field, a new athletic director, a new coach and a new start.

As the Braves enter the 2012 season with their first game at home tonight, however, the team’s focus will not be so much on that story as on the one that is yet to be written, the story of the 2012 season.

Coach J.D. Vonderheide said the theme he is using for his team this season will be: “What’s the story of this team going to be?” He said he and his staff have been showing the NFL Films movies of Super Bowl champions to the players each Friday evening of summer camp.

“Each Super Bowl champion has a story,” the first-year coach said. “I tell the kids they need to work hard and the story will come. I tell them, ‘If you do your job, we can win.’ I want them to take ownership of the team.”

The evening’s football activities will get started at 4:45 with a “Talawanda Tailgate” on the road between the main school building and the fieldhouse. It will last until 7 p.m. and include a bouncy house for kids, a DJ, corn hole and discount food from Buffalo Wild Wings, LaRosa’s and Skyline and ice cream from Flub’s.

“We hope people will come early and enjoy the festivities and get ready for the football game,” athletic director Jason Grunkemeyer said.

The evening has also been designated as Bantam Night. Youth league players will be introduced in pregame festivities, and that will be followed by recognitions on the field to open the new sports facilities at 7:10.

Grunkemeyer said Talawanda will honor those who contributed to the “Field of Dreams,” the addition of a turf surface to the football field. Top donors were promised on-field recognition and they will be presented with a framed commemorative “Field of Dreams.”

“I think it’s obviously a historic time, not just for the football team but for all athletic teams who will get to play on all the fields,” Grunkemeyer said. “We are using the football game as a means to celebrate that for the community. We hope it kind of opens up a new era of great things to come.”

Vonderheide conceded that the festivities surrounding the opening of the new field could be a distraction to his team, so they added some distractions in practice to prepare the players.

“As a coach it is a fine line,” he said. “You want to generate hype for every game. We will open a new field so it could be a distraction. I’m excited. It will be a big crowd. In practice, we added distractions. We played music. We changed the schedule up on them to see how the kids would react and see how they focus. When I took the job there were 200-plus days. I had Aug. 24 circled on the calendar. I knew it would be a challenge for us and we would need to work on focus.”

The coach said they worked for several months to prepare for tonight.

“I hope they can block out everything and focus on the 120 yards on the field,” Vonderheide said. “It’s a concern, but a welcome concern. You want that focus on Friday every week.”

The Braves host a Monroe team that got better as last season progressed.

“Monroe is a very solid team on both sides of the ball, he said. “They are well-rounded and very aggressive offensively. Defensively, they are solid in what they do. Last year, they struggled early but ended the season with a three-game winning streak. Coming in (to this year) they think they are pretty good and I think they are right.”

Vonderheide noted that the Hornets beat Talawanda 21-7 last year even though they were not playing very well early in the season.

“Talawanda had a chance with them,” he said. “It will be a difficult challenge for us, but it is a welcome challenge.”