Amy Grant News and Articles

By ALISHA WYMAN

Sonora High School's Dunlavy Field last night was in particularly rough shape — perfect for the drama of television.

A section in the center of the field was all mud. A driving rain created puddles on the track. And a crowd of about 3,500 huddled under umbrellas and blankets.

It was a fitting setting for the announcement that the football field was getting new turf — the second wish to be granted this week during the taping of NBC's pilot reality TV show "Three Wishes."

"I loved that it was raining out," said show executive producer Andrew Glassman. "It showed the spirit of the fans, and it showed what happens to this field."

Members of the football team, cheerleading team and audience only had to point at the field to show why it so badly needs fixing.

"I've seen a lot of kids play their hearts out here in sloppy conditions, and it's unfair that they have to do that," said John Miller, a Sonora High chemistry teacher and spectator of the event.

Last night, community members gathered to hear if FieldTurf Inc. had signed a contract to do the work.

The new field is expected to cost $750,000 to $1 million, Glassman said. A Sonora High fund-raising group had to raise $250,000 of that for the project.

Through the Sonora Area Foundation and other community donations, the school met the goal, Principal Terry Clark announced to the crowd.

But the audience still waited for the final word from Carter Oosterhouse, a "Three Wishes" co-host and carpenter on TV's "Trading Spaces," to see if FieldTurf would swallow all remaining costs.

He arrived in a helicopter to greet an enthusiastic, but rain-soaked audience.

Oosterhouse told them that, over the prior 48 hours, he had flown to Montreal to convince FieldTurf's CEO to make the hefty donation to Sonora High.

"I have given it my best, my all, for you guys … ," he shouted into a microphone. "And for you guys … "

The crowd waited expectantly as the crew taped a few more takes of Oosterhouse's last dramatic line. After the final time, the football team burst through a banner, cheerleaders followed and the band struck up.

The answer to the question of the night only came after three heavy machines lurched onto the field, tearing up the grass.

Afterward, Oosterhouse said he was happy to tell the community the deal had been secured.

"Everyone has such a vested interest in this football stadium," he said, adding that many members of the audience have grown up and raised families in Sonora.

Bill Dunlavy — whose father the field is named after — is one who carries those ties. He himself played football in the mud in 1946, he said.

"For 60 years we haven't had a nice field, a nice turf," he said.

He said he's excited to see the field upgraded after such a long time.

"This will last for generations," Dunlavy told the crowd.

Principal Clark has been working with June Road Productions, which is behind the TV production, for the past few months to make this wish come true.

Sonora High senior and football player Mark Biehl submitted to producers a DVD documentary demonstrating why the high school needed a new field, Clark said. June Road used it to convince FieldTurf.

Engineering of the field will start soon and Clark hopes it will be complete by May 23.

June Road Productions plans to return to tape more at that time.

Members of the football team look forward to playing on the artificial turf, which will look like grass, next fall, they said.

"You can run faster," Biehl said. "You can cut faster."

The taping last night was a little taste of reality television in production for some.

The crowd screamed for 60 seconds on cue, was directed with a bullhorn and members were coaxed through individual interviews by producers.

Barbara Dorroh, of Sonora, was one whose comments the camera crew sought.

"(The producer) wanted certain information so he wanted me to mention the field," she said, adding that he told her to speak in full sentences.

Yesterday's event follows the unveiling of the first wish on Wednesday. The company had a recreation-rehabilitation room built at the home of Abby Castleberry, a Sonora-area 10-year-old seriously injured in a November car accident.

There will be a fund-raiser for the girl open to the public on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. in the area next to the Sonora High School pool.

Across the street, at a separate event, NBC is putting on a carnival later in the evening. The fire marshal has restricted the number of tickets that can go out, so admission is invitation only, Glassman said.

The company declined to disclose the third wish it will grant. Smaller requests it has been working on also remain secret.

Renee Schuster, of Sonora, was one among the thousands to endure the rain last night at Dunlavy Field.

The atmosphere was like that of a football game — many of which have had similar weather conditions, she said.

"Football is just a Sonora tradition," she said.