Tonight's Toyota High School Game of the Week is a little bit different.
Typically, it's all about the outcome and teams jockeying for position in the always talented classes of Section III Football.
But tonight, it was all about what happened before the game.
That's because Solvay and Cortland locked horns on the football field, Solvay dedicated its field to the legendary Al Merola.
Merola coached Solvay from 1970-2003, winning 210 games. But as his widow Doreen puts it, it's not the number of wins he had but the number of lives he touched.
Merola passed away last November, and the Bearcats wasted no time honoring the man who was Solvay football, by naming the field at Earl Hadley Stadium "Al Merola Field".
To celebrate the new dedication, the words "Al Merola Field" are now painted across midfield, and signs are hanging below the press box and the main scoreboard in the south end zone of the stadium.
So while Cortland claimed victory 27-6 improving to 1-1 on the season, dropping Solvay to 0-2 in the process, what everyone will remember from this night is the memories of Merola that came flooding back. Everyone on hand felt special, being a part of the night that the proud program of Solvay football dedicated its field to the legendary Al Merola
