Tradition is big in Burrillville and lights won't change that. Here's why.

BURRILLVILLE – There aren’t many football programs left where tradition still matters.

Burrillville is one of the few towns left where what happened in the past is important to the present. The Broncos don’t ignore the bygone eras, they embraced them and let it become a part of their culture.

The culture underwent a minor change on Friday and it appears to be one for the better. After playing Saturday home games for the program’s entire existence, Burrillville hosted its first Friday night home contest at Thomas E. Gledhill Memorial Field, the high school’s new multi-purpose field that it hopes will only add to the aura of one of Rhode Island’s best football communities.

“This is awesome,” said Jack Belluzzi, who scored three touchdowns in the Broncos’ 43-19 win over West Warwick on Friday night. “Going from Saturday games, it was awesome, but a little more dead than this.

“Looking behind me and seeing the whole community here, it’s just awesome knowing everyone has my back.”

“This is a special night. We took this as serious as any important game in November,” Burrillville head coach Gennaro Ferraro said. “It was really heavy on my shoulders because I wanted to make sure I knew the town was coming an the kids were coming and the teachers were coming.

“We wanted to make sure we put out a good product and the kids played very well and I’m proud of them.”

Ferraro isn’t a Burrillville native – he’s from Westerly, another community steeped in football tradition – but Bronco blood flows throughout his body. He started his coaching career with the Broncos nearly 30 years ago under Mike Hauser and laughs telling a story about getting chewed out after making a joke about the H-shaped wooden goalposts at Eccelston Field.

Hauser taught Ferraro about Burrillville’s traditions and now, in his 18^th season as Burrillville’s head coach, he makes sure those traditions live on.

Playing Saturdays at Eccelston Field – named after Tom Eccleston, a Burrillville legend and one of the best coaches in the history of the state – was part of that. When the town finally agreed to built the multi-purpose field – which came with drama of its own – there were rumblings that Burrillville could play some games on the turf and others up on the grass field.

Those ideas soon dissipated. While Ferraro believes in tradition, he doesn’t seen the move to Fridays as the program disrespecting the past. The move is something that will only help keep the past alive.  

“This is going to enhance the culture in our school and our town,” Ferraro said. “Hopefully more kids will get interested in playing football.”

Saturday morning games were fine for parents, grandparents and other adults, but outside of the students playing in the game, cheering on the sidelines or playing in the band, there weren’t many attending games at Eccleston Field anymore.

Friday, the look was much different.

Burrillville had an idea that its games would be the place to be on Friday nights when it hosted the Injury Fund and there was a line wrapped around the parking lot trying to get to the bleachers.

While this wasn’t quite a ‘shut down Main Street’ type of event, it was the type of attendance Burrillville only got for semifinals or Super Bowls. One hour before kickoff, fans made their way to the field and continued to roll in.

As the Broncos took their opening possession down the field for a touchdown, there wasn’t much as far as empty spaces go in the bleachers. West Warwick travels well and nearly filled its designated section. The Burrillville portion of the stands were packed, complete with a student body dressed in red, white and blue to go along with the U.S.A. theme.

“Just seeing everybody in the crowd, everyone with their theme, all that stuff, it was great seeing everyone cheering us on,” said Burrillville’s Cameron Lacey, who had an interception on the opening drive and recovering a blocked punt in the end zone later in the game. “Them all cheering at the end, getting to sing [the fight song] at the end, that’s all fun.

“Playing under the lights, this is the first game we get to play on this field under the lights as a real football game. It’s just a great feeling.”

Lacey isn’t the first member of his family to play for Burrillville. His father did and so did his grandfather and so did his great-grandfather, who was a member of Burrillville’s 1933 state championship team.

He understands, more than many, what football means to the town.

“It’s just tradition. It just runs deep and the entire town is behind us,” Lacey said. “You saw it tonight with the crowd. We probably packed 1,500 people in there.”

The stands were packed with friends, family, classmates and more than a few who come to football games because that’s what you do in Burrillville. In the grass field below the turf field, middle schools played pickup football. Students wandered throughout the complex and the line for concessions was at least two first downs long.

Tradition matters in Burrillville and while playing on Saturdays was a part of that, changing days won’t change much outside of giving the coaches headaches as they try to figure out how to manage a practice schedule.

When the Broncos are home on Fridays, Gledhill Memorial Field suddenly becomes the place to be in Burrillville. It’s a new tradition and one that will only make one of the state’s best football communities even better.

“This is what this town needed,” Ferraro said. “This is going to make the culture of the school and of the town get to – even though it was a legendary status – it’s going to get it to the next step.

“I don’t know what that step it, but it’s going to go above it.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Tradition is big in Burrillville and lights won't change that. Here's why.