It's here. The busiest time of the year, at least for some of us.
The fall sports schedule is the most crowded season of the year. Golf teams actually began their short season in July. Tennis and volleyball teams began shortly after, while many football teams maintained a steady scheduled throughout the summer.
It ramps up even more this week, so I wanted to let you know about some changes you will notice in the coming weeks and months.
Saturday editions of The Sentinel-Record may be delivered later than usual, but we will still have all of the delivered by 8 a.m. The change is intended to ensure we can provide the best possible coverage of senior high football games on Friday nights. Our Saturday editions will be bolstered by additional coverage of junior high football, volleyball, golf and tennis, but the adjusted scheduled will allow us to fill out more of our coverage in time for Saturday.
Additional game stories will also be available online on Saturdays. Our goal is to get in as much high school football as we can on Saturdays, but stories we cannot file in time for the Saturday issue will be available at http://www.hotsr.com. We will then have expanded coverage ready for Sunday.
These changes will start this week. Arkansas high school football has a Week 0 in its schedule this year as the calendar allowed for an earlier start to the 2018-19 school year throughout the state.
We have four local teams involved in season-opening games on Friday. Cutter Morning Star will visit Bismarck, Magnet Cove will travel to Mountain View and Centerpoint will host Haskell Harmony Grove.
A host of local rivalry games will highlight the early season schedule. Hot Springs plays Fountain Lake, Lake Hamilton plays Lakeside, Fountain Lake and Lakeside play each other, so do Lake Hamilton and Hot Springs, and Malvern will meet Lake Hamilton, Lakeside and Fountain Lake throughout the season. Hot Springs and Lakeside are also scheduled for their annual showdown in the final week of the regular season.
What makes the schedule so cluttered is the number of other fall sports. We have been tracking golf teams since they began play in July, but the regular season launches in earnest for volleyball, tennis and junior high football this week as well.
As the season gets underway, you will also see our newest sports reporter, Rebeca Rector, at many local events. Today, we feature her coverage from Lakeside's scrimmage on Friday against Sheridan.
Also included today are this year's schedules for volleyball and junior high football for you to save. We will cover as much as we can and we will let you know when games and matches are scheduled.
The local schedule on 2B will be on its own now with the increase in local events. Our daily Sports on TV, scores and standings will be pushed to other pages to give us enough space for the full schedule.
It's the deep breath before the plunge. It's going to be even busier around here after today, and we are finishing up work on the 2018 Football Preview. Be sure to look for that in your paper on Friday with previews of all of our local senior high football teams, as well as defending Great American Conference champion Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Good luck to everyone this season. Maybe wish us some, too.
Sports on 08/19/2018