Perkins practice field to be dedicated in honor of Alex 'Tank' Tetzloff

PERKINS TWP. — Becky Tetzloff received a text message and video from Perkins assistant coach Travis Crabtree during a middle school football game last week at Perkins High School. The video showed young kids playing football on the grass practice field behind Firelands Health Stadium. That large patch of grass will be dedicated on Friday in honor of Alex Tetzloff, a Perkins graduate who died after an ATV crash in Indiana in 2016. Alex's parents, Becky and Thomas, will be on hand for the dedication prior to the Pirates' game against Tiffin Columbian. "There were some little kids playing on the field," Becky Tetzloff said. "That's so perfect. That's what we wanted it to be -- something everyone could use." Alex Tetzloff, whose nickname was Tank, played football and wrestled at Perkins. The 2014 graduate was a state wrestling qualifier as a senior and served as an assistant coach while he was in college at Bowling Green State University. The field will be known as the Alex "Tank" Tetzloff Memorial Practice Field. The project began taking shape two years ago and has been a true community effort. Donors stepped up and the Perkins Athletic Booster Club took a lead role, along with Hermes Parker Concrete. "It was a dream of the booster club and Jason Hermes and Matt Parker," said Tim Didion, booster club vice president. The land, a dump site when the stadium was built, was covered by piles of dirt. Those piles were shaped into a large berm on the field's south side that allows for great sight lines for spectators. Countless rocks were removed by area youth to make the field playable. Didion said Alex Tetzloff was "like a son of our own." He was a friend of the Didions' son, Tony, since second grade. "Alex is near and dear to our hearts," Didion said. "It's a really cool tribute to a really great kid." Jason Hermes took the lead is transforming the field to what it is today -- a place where kids of all ages can play ball. Hermes Parker Concrete donated equipment and labor. Tetzloff worked for HPC during the summer while he was in college. "Jason was out there a lot on his own time, moving dirt and planting grass," Didion said. Matt Crum from MC Sign & Design Company donated the sturdy sign that was installed Wednesday. Others who pitched in included Construction Equipment & Supply, Tuffman Equipment, Wagner Stone Quarries, Dr. Eugene Kubitz and family and the Alex Tetzloff Memorial Fund (which also provides $800 scholarships each year to a Perkins football player and wrestler). "So many people came together to make it happen," Didion said. "They're all great people. What a tremendous tribute." The press box media room will be formally dedicated in the memory of Stan Stewart, Perkins' longtime scorekeeper and secretary-treasurer of the Sandusky Bay Conference who died in May. Stewart was Perkins' football statistician for 47 years. He also lent his expertise to the boys and girls basketball programs and the track programs. Stewart was inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and was a 2020 inductee into the Perkins High School Hall of Fame. Also Friday, a plaque will be dedicated to former booster club president Chris White, who died from cancer last year. The practice field will be dedicated at about 6:15 p.m., prior to the Pirates' 7 o'clock game against Tiffin Columbian. "It's such an honor," Becky Tetzloff said about the field being named in her son's honor. "It's nice to know Tank's going to be remembered and he can give back to the school. It's a gift to us and our community. He loved being a Pirate."