For some, it seems the countdown to the new high school football season has been going on ever since the final horn sounded in 2011.
After months of offseason work and preparation, our local teams will return to the field Friday night for games which count. Players and coaches at Winder-Barrow High School, Apalachee High School and Bethlehem Christian Academy are all eager to see what 2012 has in store.
As we detail in our football preview section included inside today’s edition, there are several new factors involved for the Bulldoggs, Wildcats and Knights. WBHS will be featuring a new offensive and a new defensive scheme. AHS will be in a new region and classification, as will WBHS. For BCA, it’s about competing for the first time with a full varsity schedule of games.
It will be interesting to see how this fall develops for the three programs. WBHS is hoping to get into the win column for the first time since 2009. The Bulldoggs travel to Jackson County High School Friday and based on their offseason work, believe there is a solid chance for a win.
AHS is trying to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2009 when the Wildcats went undefeated in the regular season. Coach Shane Davis and his team know a tough region schedule awaits them, but you would be hard pressed to find someone who outworks the AHS program.
Coaches and even school officials over at BCA know 2012 will simply be the first of many steps in building a successful varsity program. The Knights have several quality athletes on this year’s team, but coaches would like to add additional depth for the long haul.
We preview all three teams in depth in our preview section today. The preview is a new setup for us and one we are proud of. Let us know your feedback on this year’s football preview, a 20-page section printed on high gloss paper. You can email me at cbridges@barrowjournal.com or call me at 770-867-6397. We value your feedback and look forward to hearing your comments.
Also in today’s edition (see page 5B) we are debuting our football pickers contest. As a football fan growing up, I looked forward to getting my hometown paper each week to take part in this contest. Despite years of entering, I think I won the contest through my hometown paper once. It shows that just because you think you know something about football, it’s not easy to determine the outcome of games. Hopefully, each of you will have better luck.
I believe adding this contest will help our paper provide even more for you, the reader. I trust entering the contest will become a weekly tradition, just as it was for me all those years ago. This feature is something we’ve had in the works for some time and I feel proud to finally be able to offer it.
It’s an exciting time for those of us who are football fans.
In fact, it’s not stretching it to say this is the best time of the year. Our local teams will kick off in two days. It’s been a long offseason but one that is thankfully almost over. See you at the games on Friday nights.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal.
