Freshly re-sodded Haskell Stadium will be the site of Friday night’s Class 6A state high school football playoff game between Lawrence High and Blue Valley North.

Lawrence High officials made the decision on Wednesday afternoon after Haskell Indian Nations University facilities management personnel began applying 3,200 square yards of new sod on a grass surface that had become a mud pit.

“We wanted to start doing it last week, but it was too wet,” said Virgil Allen, Haskell’s director of facilities.

HINU’s field was such a quagmire last Friday, LHS had to make an eleventh-hour decision to move its regular-season finale against Topeka High to KU’s Memorial Stadium for safety reasons.

Quite likely, the Lions’ playoff opener this Friday would have been shifted to Memorial Stadium if Haskell’s field hadn’t been re-sodded.

“We appreciate everything KU has done for us,” Lawrence High football coach Dirk Wedd said. “But high school football is meant to be played at Haskell. That’s our home field.”

It is also HINU’s home field and the Fightin’ Indians have one home game remaining, a Nov. 16 tilt against Southwestern Assemblies of God U.

Fortunately for the Indians, the field issues came during a two-week gap in their schedule. The Indians played host to Trinity Bible College on Oct. 19 and haven’t played since. They resume this Saturday against Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Haskell Indian Nations University crews install new sod on the football field at Haskell Stadium on Monday. The field needed repairs after being torn up during wet-weather football games.

Any remaining grass at Haskell Stadium after the Oct. 19 game all but disappeared when HINU’s soccer team played there in the rain on Oct. 23 and Lawrence High and Free State High played football there, also in the rain, two days later.

Soon thereafter, Haskell officials decided to apply new sod.

“We were going to do it after the season,” Allen said. “But we moved it up.”

The Lawrence school district pays the Bureau of Indian Affairs $3,000 each time a city school uses the facility. So far this season, Lawrence High has played four football games at Haskell Stadium and Free State three. A football game between South and Southwest junior highs was also played there.

Kickoff for the Lawrence-Blue Valley North game will be 7:30 p.m. Friday. No passes will be honored. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for students.