That prompted Burkich to call Danville Supt. Bob Rowland and a decision was made quickly to shift the game to Admiral Stadium. Financial arrangements and other logistical matters will be resolved Monday at a meeting between officials from both schools.
"We have some preliminary ideas about the financial concerns. We want to be fair to both parties involved," Rowland said. "Steve has been very cooperative during this process, and we hope we have been, too. I just want to do what will be good for the kids participating in both programs.
"This was Boyle's year to have the home game and the gate receipts. We want to have a good discussion and make sure everyone is comfortable with the financial arrangements. But I don't think there are any questions that are irresolvable."
Boyle had to move its season-opening game to Harrison County last week. This move now means the Rebels won't play a home game until they start Class AAA district play Sept. 29.
"Chris (Pardue) was a big part of the decision. We gave some discussion to giving the grass this weekend to see if we could see more progress, but we felt like with a game of this importance and interest to the community that the sooner the decision could be made, the better off we all would be."
Rowland said Danville had no other conflicts with the field on Sept. 1. A Danville-Boyle soccer doubleheader is scheduled for Sept. 2.
May affect band competition in late September
"We don't have to move anything or disrupt anyone else's schedule," Rowland said. "We do have a lot of traffic on our field and we try to monitor the surface. Danny Gadberry and his crew are always diligent to make sure we have the best possible playing surface."
Burkich said Michael McAfee had done everything "physically possible" to have Boyle's field ready to play.
"We've put as much effort into this field this spring and summer, from what people have told me, as ever has been put in. We hired Michael McAfee and he's to be commended for the job he's done," Burkich said. "Michael is learning the make up of the field and how to apply the right treatments. Every field is different. It takes time to learn the chemistry to make a particular field work.
"Michael has done a great job on our soccer field. He's been part of the crew at Admiral Stadium before. I want to be consistent and not jerk around looking for different solutions. I want to give things some time to make them work."
Boyle also has a band competition scheduled at its stadium in late September. Burkich said that competition will be treated just like the football games have been.
"We've moved two football games off the field. It's still a matter of going event by event," Burkich said. "We'll just have to look and see what shape the field is in by then. But we are very hopeful this decision will allow us to finish the season with a good playing surface for all our events."
