Friday night football in Waukesha: Not quite what you would expect, at least this week

(WITI) -- Football season begins Friday night for most high school students around the state. It was supposed to be the debut of brand new fields at two Waukesha schools. But the big reveal will have to wait for two very different reasons.

There will be a football scrimmage Friday night on the brand new Waukesha South field.

The Blackshirts were supposed to open the season and christen the new field against Nicolet. But last week, the Glendale school announced it was canceling football this year because it didn't have enough players.

Across town at Waukesha North, there is no turf. The Northstars needed backfill from the field at Waukesha West to lay the foundation for their new field. Mother nature kept North from getting that backfill.

"As it rained and delayed West's field, it delayed us getting what we needed to start our field," said Brian Schlei, Waukesha North Athletic Director.

Waukesha West is expected to have its new field ready for Friday night.  Schlei says he's willing to be patient. The new field will provide new opportunities once it's ready.

"We had a stadium field with grass we could only use 30 times a year and now, the turf, we'll be able to use it at least 300 days out of the year and for practices, we never were able to practice on the stadium field before with the grass," said Schlei.

Back at Waukesha South, Dan Domach says after four years of planning and fundraising, he can wait two more weeks.

"August 1st, I came out here to watch them lay the first piece of turf and it was almost like things coming off my shoulders, all the anxiety we've had to get the project completed," said Domach.

At Waukesha North, school officials expect the field will be ready for the conference opener on September 5th.

In the end, they say having artificial turf at the three high schools will save the district $20,000 a year on its water bill.