KILLEEN, Texas (FOX 44) – The Killeen Independent School District is looking forward to an exciting start to its high school football season – which includes the dedication of its second regional stadium.

Board members and Athletics Department leaders will host the dedication ceremony of the Joseph L. Searles, III Stadium around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Following the ceremony with Searles family members, the new Chaparral Bobcats will start their first season against the Killeen Kangaroos. Game time is at 7 p.m.

The 4,600-seat turf stadium is located adjacent to the new Chaparral High School – at 4400 Chaparral Road in Killeen. Those interested in attending can buy tickets in advance and arrive at the stadium early to get a seat. The ceremony and game are expected to draw a crowd.

All Killeen ISD football tickets are available online here.

The disctrict says that the late Joseph Searles graduated from Killeen High School in 1959, and was one of the first African-American graduates from the school. He did very well academically and athletically – playing football for Pratt Junior College in Kansas and then for Kansas State University. He also graduated with a degree in political science.

Searles played football for the New York Giants for one season. He continued his education and earned a law degree from the George Washington School of Law. He also gained prominence in 1970, when he became the first African-American floor broker in the New York Stock Exchange.

The district says that Searles became Vice President of the Public Finance Division at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (now J. P. Morgan Chase) in 1984, and held other positions in federal, state, and municipal agencies in housing.

Searles is survived by three children – Monica Dockery, Townsend Sowell, and Courtney Snowden – and two grandchildren – Joseph Brown and Zamaria Cauthen.