The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
The season will fly by; enjoy it
As I ascended the bleachers at Wildcat Stadium in Mayfield on June 15, I couldn’t help but to stop and turn around to look at the scene behind me.
The annual News-Herald Senior Bowl had just finished. My interviews were done and videos were taken. One last time, I turned and looked at the 2017 football season that had officially come to a close.
There on the playing surface were dozens upon dozens of players dressed in News-Herald jerseys, along with their parents and friends, spending one last moment together on a high school football field before moving on to their next endeavors, whether it be work, college or service to their country.
They smiled. They hugged. They took pictures. They exchanged contact information and social media contacts.
Deep down, they probably also wondered where time had gone.
Precious months earlier, those seniors were strapping on their football helmets on the first day of fall practice. And here they were wandering around Wildcat Stadium soaking in one last moment of high school glory trying to slow the hands of time for a second or two more.
The hands of time are already spinning on the 2018 season. They’ll hit a crescendo when the first games of the season are played. Next thing you know, the counting of playoff points will begin, conference standings will be perused, and players will be walking across the field for senior night festivities.
That’s why it is so important to smell the proverbial roses while they’re in full bloom, to enjoy every moment of the season, from the nasty, sweaty two-a-day practices to the Saturday mornings after games when you’re so sore that getting out of bed seems like a chore.
This week, we at The News-Herald will give you a glimpse of some of those roses — storylines to watch, players to follow and teams to follow — both from your hometown and from rival schools.
• Can Kirtland and Mentor get back to the state championship game, and win it this year?
• Who is on the preseason Tony Fisher Award watch list, and will a darkhorse come out of the blue to overtake them all?
• Which teams are going to hang conference championship banners this season?
• Who are the new stars that will shine to replace the ones who graduated in the spring?
• And maybe most interesting of all (OK, not really), which players have the biggest Fortnite addiction?
The storylines are as endless as the memories what will be accrued over the next three months.
The season is just getting started, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Because it won’t be long until you can do what I do: Stand atop the bleachers after the next News-Herald Senior Bowl and wonder where time went.