The Hot Corner
I am back in the field again.
For the first time since mid-April, I’ve been able to leave the office and cover athletics.
With the sports world being on pause since April, my usual routine of spending my time at games and practices fell by the wayside and I was limited to mostly sitting at my desk to work on stories via my cellphone and e-mail.
With summer workouts getting underway across Texas, I now have a reason to get out of the office and back to doing what I love: covering sports.
Over the past two weeks, I have visited the county’s schools, chatting with coaches and snapping pictures of the athletes who are hard at work getting ready for the upcoming school year.
Monday afternoon, I stopped in Ira to see how the 2020 football team is preparing for its upcoming season.
After being ranked No. 10 by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine in 1A Division 1 football, the Bulldogs face some lofty expectations despite graduating seven seniors.
The Bulldog roster will be loaded with juniors, with players such as Shayden Hatley, Drew Porter and Ike Weaver carrying the load. Sophomore Bryton Partian looks poised to take over the quarterback duties, but the rest of the offense is still a work in progress. It will be interesting to see what that team looks like when the season kicks off.
In Hermleigh, a head coaching change presents new opportunities.
Several familiar faces should be back in 2020. Juniors Stetson Digby and Bubba Digby should be leaders for head coach Heath Gibson.
While they will have to replace their main playmaker from 2019 — Payton Rivera — the number of participants Gibson has reported at summer workouts indicates that the team’s numbers should rise from 2019.
For the Tigers, having had a full season with head coach Wes Wood will reap dividends in 2020. The Tigers’ team that took down Sweetwater and Fort Stockton in district play was a much better team than the one that fell to Littlefield in the season opener. I expect the progression to continue heading into 2020.
The Tigers will have to replace some weapons, but with more than 100 kids showing up to the school’s first day of summer workouts, the buy-in seems to be there.
With what should be an easier schedule and an improved team, 2020 should be a telling year for the Tigers and I cannot wait to get it started.
While it still feels like a return to a normal sports calendar is a mile away, the start of the 2020 school year is actually right around the corner and with it comes a flurry of new seasons.
Only time will tell how it will play out, but I am optimistic we can get started on time.
It’ll be a fun year.
Reed Graff is the sports editor for The Snyder News. Comments on this article can be made to sports@thesnydernews.com