Texarkana Gazette

Here’s to another year of football

- —JOSH RICHERT

Sports writers and editors share more than one thing with high school football coaches, but the biggest may be the mad scramble for the scribes is to complete an annual football kickoff special section.

Just as teams gear up for two-adays, around here in the gruelling dog days of summer, the Gazette sports staff buckles down to interview coaches and write up a season prospectus for each and every school. It’s a busy time. It’s an exciting time.

More than a fair share of newspapers and publicatio­ns begin interviewi­ng coaches and sending out questionna­ires long before fall camps begin. The Gazette sports staff takes pride in waiting until kids have reported and coaches have been able to evaluate which players have grown and bulked up, who retained the informatio­n from the previous season or even spring drills, and what guys emerge as leaders on the field for their respective teams.

We strive to get the most up-todate informatio­n for fans and our readers. This is always a endeavor against the clock, much like our area teams, players and coaches will experience at some point this season.

The local and area coaches work with us to accomplish our task.

The 2019 Gazette football section, which could never be completed without the talent and teamwork of the sales and marketing staff, advertisin­g compositio­n dept., the sports dept., photograph­y staff, and copy editors laying out and designing the final product, is an obvious change from what we’ve traditiona­lly published to bring the informatio­n to fans about the upcoming season.

Our magazine, with more pages than last month’s Sports Illustrate­d issue, will hold informatio­n for all 28 football teams in the Texarkana Gazette circulatio­n area.

It was a bold change, especially since it was July before the decision was finalized to move forward with the magazine. And while it was strenuous, it was the right decision.

This is a magazine fans will appreciate, and super fans will hold onto for the duration of the 2019 football campaign. Perhaps, even longer. Enjoy.

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