South Milwaukee is back, in black: Rockets debut turf field with win over Cudahy

The South Milwaukee Rockets debuted a new black turf field, along with other facilities upgrades, with a 44-8 rivalry game victory over Cudahy on Friday. Senior receiver Blake Maldonado took a sweep on the second play from scrimmage all the way for a touchdown, part of a two-score night that helped christen the new playing surface in style.

"Felt explosive. It definitely felt different on this field," Maldonado said. "It feels so smooth, so crisp, I wasn't slipping at all."

A brief delay after stadium lights unexpectedly shut off in the first quarter was about the only glitch in an otherwise banner night for the Rockets. South Milwaukee will retain possession of a hammer trophy after the latest contest with its neighbor to the north.

"This is probably the last time we play this rivalry for a couple years because Cudahy is moving conferences," Rockets head coach Pete Dufek said. "Ninety-seven years we’ve played for a trophy, the hammer, and now we get to keep it until we schedule them again."

New field part of 'Launching a Legacy' project

Friday's unveiling marked a milestone in an ongoing $3.8 million project, called "Launching a Legacy" that was kick-started by a $1 million donation from the Bucyrus Foundation. Community support and grant funding have also helped offset costs for further upgrades yet to be completed. The baseball and softball fields also will receive work ahead of the spring seasons. District athletic director Ante Udovicic said the Bucyrus Foundation's donation was pivotal to the project.

"From there we started a campaign with a group of former coaches, parents of alums, district personnel and named it 'Launching a Legacy,'" Udovicic said. "We've raised to date around $700,000. We've still got a ways to go, but overall the project is making good progress."

Safety paramount in field construction

While looking into various color options, the darker turf was not as much of a safety concern as one lighter one in particular, according to Udovicic.

“I researched it deeply enough to know I wouldn’t use blue for the turf because of our proximity to the lake, and I wouldn’t want to see birds killed,” Udovicic said. "If I knew that, I researched everything."

Prior to choosing black as the predominant color however, Udovicic visited Bolingbrook (Illinois) High School, where one of five black turf fields in the United States opened in 2019 according to Udovicic's research. Through further investigation, Udovicic found the biggest concern about black turf to be a misconception.

"One of the questions was, 'will it be too hot?' and the answer is unequivocally no, because we don't have the rubber infill," Udovicic said. "Rubber is the predominant reason that you are going to retain heat on a turf field."

Instead of the little black rubber pellets under many turf fields, South Milwaukee's field uses a base of BrockFILL, a southern pine-based fill designed to retain moisture better than a rubber infilled field, helping lower temperatures, according to the company's website.

Udovicic said he has closely monitored the temperature of the field since installation was completed and was pleased with the results even during recent heat waves.

"It was about 113 degrees (on the field) when it was 99 degrees out and sunny, and I went to a couple other turf fields nearby and it was 127 degrees, 131 degrees, 135 degrees, considerably hotter," Udovicic said.

"Surprisingly it felt much colder than a lot of the other green turf fields," Maldonado said after Friday's win. "I like our turf, it's unique."

The surface has also been tested for head impact safety, with it grading out similarly to "a really good grass field" according to Udovicic.

Dufek was also pleased to see his team get through Friday's game without some of the injuries that struck last year's team.

"It’s something you have to get used to, and the more we play on it, the more kids will get used to it," Dufek said. "As far as safety and stuff, no injuries, so I couldn’t be happier with what we have here."

Field still named for South Milwaukee coaching great

The refurbished home of the Rockets will continue to bear the name of Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame member William "Bill" Spaltholz, whose grandson Clay Spaltholz is a junior right guard for South Milwaukee.

Bill coached the Rockets to a 150-96-6 record and seven conference championships from 1951-82. He was inducted into the WFCA Hall of Fame in 1986.

"Pretty high emotions, 'Launching a Legacy' is the name (of the project) and it's a new legacy, something new for the field, but still has the same name," Clay Spaltholz said. "It's a new era for South Milwaukee football."

He echoed the sentiments of teammates about how the field played, adding the atmosphere and victory over a rival made the night even better. South Milwaukee moved to 3-1, already exceeding its 2022 season total of two wins.

"A lot of progress; we just need to keep it rolling," Spaltholz said. "I think if we carry the momentum of these three wins into future weeks, we can do something we haven't done in a few years and make the playoffs."

"I think we can be conference champs, it's a big redemption year," Maldonado said. "We've got a lot of returning guys, we're better, we've been practicing, we'll be ready for it."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: South Milwaukee is back, in black: Rockets debut turf field in victory