Just picture it: a crisp fall day; orange, red, and yellow leaves fluttering on the trees; and the unmistakable sounds of shoulder pads on shoulder pads. Since 1898, that’s been the scene every fall on Sawyer Field, as Williston’s football team has taken to the gridiron. Originally a grass field, built during then-Headmaster Joseph Sawyer’s tenure, Sawyer Field was updated to synthetic turf in 2005, thanks to a gift from Denis Berube ’61, P’92, ’13, which also made lights (and night games) possible. In 2021, the field was replaced again, and it’s now in almost constant use with soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and football games, including last fall’s commanding 42-26 victory over Cheshire Academy to win the coveted Danny Smith Bowl. And while a lot may have changed about football on Sawyer Field in 127 years—including, thankfully, helmet technology (see below)! — one thing remains constant: the sheer pleasure of playing the game on one of the prettiest fields in New England.