You won’t be seeing much of me on these pages for a while

Now that Tiftarea Academy football is over with, you won’t be seeing me much on the sports pages anymore.

With my job as news editor, it would be very difficult for me to find the time to try to cover any basketball. I hope I can cover some spring sports, however.

Nov. 15 marked my ninth anniversary working here at the Gazette. It does feel weird not doing the sports I did for the majority of those nine years. However, I am enjoying my new position, because it is allowing me to prove to myself and a number of other people that I actually know something about life other than sports.

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Before the start of the football season I was asked by the Atlanta Falcons to be one of eight writers from around the state to help select their first-ever state high school coaches of the year.

The winners, along with a lifetime achievement award recipient, will be announced during a special banquet at the Georgia World Congress Center Dec. 13.

Being asked to do this was one of the best honors I have ever received, so I will probably write something up on the banquet. I also hope there will be some familiar names among the award winners.

It is a great move by the Falcons to honor high school coaches in the state. They are also recognizing high school football in general.

From what I have been told the Falcons are also building a wall at the Georgia Dome. On that wall they want to place a helmet from every high school team in the state of Georgia. In return for the helmet, they are allowing high school teams to go up to the Dome for a game, free of charge.

They are building up a fan base, recognizing some of the finest high school football in the country and promoting a lot of goodwill.

Maybe that is some of the karma that has helped the Falcons have such a great year on the field, as well.

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The only bad move as far as I am concerned is the Falcons are only recognizing public school teams. I also wish they would recognize teams from the GISA, as well.

After spending time with the kids at Tiftarea Academy, I would have been tickled for them to get to go to Atlanta as a team to see the Falcons. It would have given them one last team-related activity to do.

It would also have been a just reward for the great year the Panthers had this season. I was very happy and honored to have covered them.

The funny thing was it could have been my last year covering high school football. I just guess we will find out come August 2009.

If it was my last game, I guess I would have ended with a good round number, because I started writing high school sports when I was 16. That means this year was my 25th year. I will let y’all figure out how old I am.

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