When I and my twin brother Joshua were kids, we had a pretty strict bedtime. I don’t remember what it was, but my parents knew we needed plenty of sleep. On Monday nights during football season, however, we could stay up late enough to listen to the theme song for Monday Night Football. Then it was off to bed.
Hank Williams Jr. has since fallen from our collective good graces, but that theme song still plays through my head whenever the end of August rolls around.
The high school football season kicks off this Friday, with El Dorado hosting Conway, Junction City on the road at Harmony Grove, Smackover taking on Hampton and Parkers Chapel hosting Glenbrook (Strong is off). News-Times sports Editor Tony Burns and I will be out covering games; Tony taking on the Wildcats, while I’ll start my Arkansas high school football coverage career at Parkers Chapel (Tony has been with the News-Times for 28 years, I’ve been here about a month-and-a-half, so together we’ve got 28 years of experience covering Arkansas high school football). First year El Dorado head coach Steven Jones will look to fulfill the promise he brings after leading Junction City to a 2A state title last season.
I’ve covered high school and college football, from the smallest stadiums with no press boxes or, worse, press boxes with no air conditioning, to games at the University of Oklahoma’s Owen Field. I’ve taken my own stats, my own photos, been locked in a stadium, written a story in my car, filed a story from the nearest McDonald’s (WiFi wasn’t always the easiest thing to find) and even called games in. Usually, I just fill in when needed. High school football seasons are fun, but they’re also long. Kudos to sportswriters who put in the long miles and hours every Friday night to give these young men the coverage they deserve.
In Friday’s sports section, you’ll notice a new page of SEC football content. We hope it’s a nice addition to your newspaper and gets you ready for the weekend’s SEC action (The Razorbacks, incidentally, host Portland State. I’m going to confidently predict a win).
In Saturday’s digital edition of the News-Times, we also have a 8-page college football section that will run throughout the season. Starting Sunday, Sept. 8, we’ll also have six pages of NFL coverage in our digital edition. I’m looking forward to this expanded sports content, and I hope you are as well.
If you’re a print subscriber, you automatically get access to our digital edition. If you need help activating your digital subscription, or want to subscribe, call or email us at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].
Another football game to mark on the calendar is the Murphy USA Classic on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Southern Arkansas will take on Ouachita Baptist in a clash of Great American Conference powers.
Are you ready for some football?