Riordan athletic director Mike Gilleran said there is a “very good” chance the Crusaders will play their home football games at either City College of San Francisco or Terra Nova High in Pacifica or a combination of both.
The Crusaders normally play on the Riordan campus.
“There is nothing finalized, but we’re concerned about the sprinkler system which is ancient” Gilleran said. “We can’t properly water the field and with El Nino coming, when it hits the field could be in bad shape. I don’t think we can wait around until the rain comes on a Thursday and we play Saturday. We have to act now.”
The recent drought has also made things dicey for the Crusaders.
Gilleran said the move is “not 100 percent” but he is talking to both CCSF and Terra Nova and said those schools have been cooperative. No matter what the varsity and junior varsity teams do (they play double-headers), the freshman team will probably continue to play at Riordan, Gilleran said.
Riordan associated athletic director Bob Greene further illuminated the situation:
"We are currently in talks with both City College of San Francisco and Terra Nova High School about moving home games to those respective sites for this coming season," Greene said via email. "Though not all details are confirmed as of now, it appears we will be using both of these sites to host our respective JV and varsity home games. At this time, our four freshman level home dates, along with practices for all three levels of our football program, will remain on our campus, at Crusader Field. That may change depending on the condition of the field going forward.
"The bottom line is that though the field remains playable, we do not feel that the current quality of the field allows us to compete, specifically at the varsity level, in the fashion that we hope to. Furthermore, the possibility of large amounts of rain leaving our field unplayable and forcing last minute changes to WCAL varsity contests was something that we wanted to avoid and moving the games to the aforementioned sites ensures that we will have a suitable site to host these most critical contests.
"As for the long term plans for our field, the goal remains to raise the needed funds to upgrade the facility with a modern turf playing surface, though the timeline of this project has not been finalized."
If Riordan moves its home game, it would be the second San Francisco WCAL school in as many years to do so. Last year Sacred Heart Cathedral moved its home games mostly to Terra Nova due to a new running track and other improvements that went in at Kezar Stadium. The Fightin’ Irish also played one home game at Westmoor High in Daly City. The Irish return to Kezar this season for their home games.
One bright note for Riordan is it is scheduled to play its first four games on the road this season anyway.
