Special ceremony is set for Albion’s home opening football game on Friday

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – The entrance to Albion’s new Richard C. Diminuco Sports Complex .

Friday’s Albion home opening football game against Depew will be a special one for the Purple Eagles sports program.

Over the past two years Albion’s sports facilities have undergone a dramatic up grade.

Those improvements include a new artificial turf football field surrounded by a new all weather track and a new artificial turf combination soccer/softball field. In addition, the high school gymnasium is being completely redone and the tennis courts have been rebuilt.

Richard Diminuco

Prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff there will be a special dedication ceremony as those new turf facilities will be named the Richard C. Diminuco Athletic Complex in honor of the Purple Eagles former long time football coach and athletic director.

Those ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.

Diminuco served as Albion’s varsity coach for 30 years from 1979 to 2008 during which time he led the Purple Eagles to 12 division titles, 4 Section VI titles and over 200 victories. He also served as Athletic Director for much of that time.

On the field, Albion will be looking to rebound from a 32-7 season opening loss at Olean while Depew will be looking to keep the momentum from a 43-14 win over Dunkirk.