MARTY JAMES Napa Valley Register | Posted: Friday, October 8, 2010 12:00 am

Steven Dinov, a two-way starter and captain, led the undefeated Napa High School football team into the new Memorial Stadium for an afternoon practice Thursday, as the Indians continued preparations for their Monticello Empire League opener.

Dinov, who starts at fullback and defensive end, was the first player through the entrance at the south end of the stadium, leading the 5-0 Indians on to the new field for the first time. 

Napa takes on Vacaville (4-1) at 7:30 tonight in a matchup of ranked schools in the new stadium.

“It’s mind-blowing just how awesome it is,” said Dinov. “The stadium is amazing, it’s really great. We’re extremely fortunate. Something like this takes a lot of work. The fact that we got to be on it for our league games is really great.”

Head coach Troy Mott and his staff directed Napa through a practice as a final tune-up. The Indians, who completed a perfect nonleague season, drew a bye last week and have had two weeks to get ready for Vacaville.

“We’ve never been more prepared for a game in our whole career at Napa High,” said Dinov. “Everyone’s focused. We’re all ready. Our No. 1 goal is to win league and to eventually go to sections. One thing that has gotten in our way is Vacaville. We know that and we want to take care of business. We have had a tough time with Vacaville. They’re the big thing that we need to get through.”

Both teams are highly ranked and respected. 

In the CalHiSports.comWeek 5 CIF state bowl game rankings, Napa is No. 10 in Division I North and Vacaville is No. 5 in Division II North.

The new Memorial Stadium should be electric when the lights come on and the crowd files in for the first time.

“I’m ready to go,” said the Indians’ Max Kampton, who starts at right guard and defensive end. “I feel like everyone has just been on edge these last couple of weeks to get going out here. Not only is it the first league game, but the new stadium and everything that is going on with this game.

“The old stadium was a piece of history in Napa. It’s nice to be able to come out here and get a sense for it. It’s going to be a tough game. It will definitely be a good game. We’ve got to play our game — stay inside ourselves and be a team.”

Said Dinov: “We’re really excited to see how it is with the stands full, the band and our crowd. That will be the real feeling that you get.”

Players and staff got to test out the new field for an hour and 40 minutes yesterday. Practice ended with the Indians kicking a field goal.

“To walk into this place, it’s overwhelming at first, just the grandeur of it all, how nice it is,” said Kampton. “The big new stands, the nice field ... it’s unbelievable.”

Mott was thoroughly impressed as he took a tour of the complex with other staff members Thursday morning. He got to look inside the Indians’ team room and walk the field.

“It’s breathtaking, I had a definite lump in my throat,” said Mott. “It’s an awesome stadium. They’ve thought of everything. They did a phenomenal job, all the detail things that are involved in this stadium — my hat’s off to them. They’ve put in a really nice turf field. They haven’t cut any corners and they certainly didn’t cut any corners with the field.

“Our community is blessed to have something like this for our kids — something that we can be very, very proud of.”

Stadium gates open today at 2 p.m., as it’s a tripleheader with freshman and junior varsity games also scheduled.