Progress made on Jack Peters Field

Less than a week after being dug up into an eyesore, Jack Peters Field has been patched up.

But it's still not yet playable.

The longtime home turf of the Robinson Knights, the condition of which was first reported by the Times earlier this week, now again resembles a football field after the company contracted to re-sod some portions did just that.

But it still needs to be topdressed, coach Mike DePue said Saturday, and may not be ready in time for Robinson's Aug. 24 home preseason game against Clearwater.

"That's still to be determined," DePue said.

According to DePue, the company was hired earlier this summer to re-sod some dead spots and perform a topdressing (applying a blended soil mixture over the surface).

DePue said the work wasn't done adequately the first time. The company returned last weekend and began work before being stopped by rain. At the time work was halted, the middle of the field near the home sideline resembled a gargantuan golf divot.

Now, "it just needs to be topdressed," DePue said Saturday, "and I estimate it will take four to six weeks for it to take root. If we can keep the (youth football) leagues off of it, we should only have to use it once over the next month."

That would be the preseason game, if school officials feel the surface is playable at that point. Robinson's first three regular season contests -- against Jefferson, Dunedin and Jesuit -- are on the road. 

Teams in post

• Robinson High School