Livingston Set To Play First True Home Game Since 2020 Against Macon

Story and Photo by Rusty Ellis

When Livingston Academy takes the field against region foe Macon County, it’ll be a momentous occasion for second-year head coach Dale Flatt.

For the first time since Oct. 30, 2020, the Wildcats will get to play a true home game. Their field has been under renovations that have occurred from the beginning of the 2021 season and finally wrapped up on Wednesday evening.

An excited Flatt spent most of Thursday putting the finishing touches on the field by marking it off.

“We practice right behind it and we’ve been watching it all the way through, and it’s finally done,” Flatt said. “Everything feels like it’s falling into place, and I know these kids are so excited to play here on Friday night.”

The entirety of the 2021 season saw Livingston play their home games at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium, and while it provided an excellent environment for Flatt’s Wildcats, he also admitted it felt like they were playing all road games.

“You think about it, it’s really like playing an away game,” Flatt said. “Here, we come to the field house, throw the pads on and walk out…when you’re riding the bus like that, it just adds to the challenge. You never feel like you have a home just because you’re on the road.”

That doesn’t change the fact that Flatt is incredibly thankful for Tech’s generosity in allowing them to use the field.

“I appreciate them for letting us play there, they were great to us,” Flatt said. “Being here, it just feels good. I think we all have been working hard to get this ready for Friday night.”

Flatt mentioned how it felt like everything was falling into place at the right time, and one look at a glance at the Wildcats shows that sentiment. A winless record aside, the Wildcats have improved in every facet of the game from a year ago, giving Flatt the feeling that a lot of the work he and his staff have put in from the beginning of the offseason to now has paid off.

“We have been moving the ball on offense and getting stops on defense, and we’re still improving,” Flatt said. “Things are going in the right direction, and now we get to play on our field…when I was working on the field, some of them would come out and look at it. You could see just how much it meant to them to get the chance to play on it and represent Livingston Academy. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s finally here.”

This game is a big deal for Flatt too. Not many coaches can say they coached the first year-and-a-half of their tenure playing zero true home games. With how much Livingston supports LA, Flatt knows this is a big deal for both the kids and himself.

“There’s nothing better than to have our fans behind us and cheering us on,” Flatt said. “That’s what we strive for, for them to play to their abilities. Having your fanbase behind you, that’s big…if people have never played sports, you might not understand it, but to have your people behind you, there’s nothing better than that.”

Livingston and Macon will battle it out in region action on Friday night at 7 P.M.