Just how many years spent covering high school football?

After noticing a couple of Facebook posts by friends and area sports guys, namely Vic Quick and Jerome Wickersham, they both mentioned that they were beginning their 28^th year of covering high school football.

They, along with Justin Wickersham, are rock stars, especially when you consider most of those years have been spent in Rapid City and the Black Hills. That’s very rare these days in the media business. Since my retirement as the Journal sports editor about four years ago, three other sports editors have come and gone and another one is probably soon on the way.

All of that got me to thinking (and often forgetting). After covering the Hot Springs-Winner football game Friday night at beautiful Woodward Field, just how many years is that for me? This might take some time.

We could go back to the very beginning in high school and covering the Bison for the school newspaper, “The Bison Bellow.” But let's skip that one for now.

Technically, it all began midway through the good ole' college days at Black Hills State, doing a few things for the Belle Fourche Bee? The editor was an older guy, which means he was probably my age now. He smoked a cigar all of the time and ran his own press.

Adding things up, unofficially, it's around 35 years in the newspaper business covering high school football, starting in Belle Fourche, followed by a very short stint at the Hot Springs Star. That was before going “bigtime,” or fulltime at the Northern Wyoming Daily News in Worland, Wyo., Laramie Boomerang (twice), Skagit Valley Herald in Mount Vernon, Wash., and finally at the Rapid City Journal. Also, there were other part-time gigs at the Casper Star-Tribune and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne, and now at the Fall River County Herald-Star in Hot Springs.

When you add that and other freelance work posted online, it’s about 42 years. Maybe it’s 41, but who is counting. From 1982 to 2025, let's deduct about a year and a half while working at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle as a news copy editor while my late wife was in the hospital in Denver. That might have entailed two high school football seasons, but it is like when people ask me what I know, it's usually, “whatever I knew, I have forgotten by now.”

So Vic, Jerome and Justin, as the cool kids say, hold my beer. You youngsters will get there one of these days and pass me up. At least I hope you do.

Since my retirement from the Journal, it's all about going down to Hot Springs to take pictures on the sidelines, often getting run over by excited Bison on the bench after something good has happened. During one of the first games a young player, probably a 90-pound freshman, asked me if I was a scout.

"No, just a former sports editor and a former Bison who has nothing better to do."

As a former Bison (Class of '77 rules!) and part of the 1974 state champion team as a sophomore, that meant being a blocking dummy during practice. The varsity players got better by pulverizing most of us sophomores. The varsity experience that year came when the coaches would yell, “jayvees, get in there,” when we had a big lead late in the game.

After retirement, there was taking pictures for myself and posting them on the Hot Springs Athletics Hall of Fame Facebook site. There was also taking pictures and occasionally writing a story for the Herald-Star when publisher, editor, news writer and sports writer Brett Nachtigall needed help. That included the Bison winning the state championship two years ago.

Friday night was only originally going to be pictures for Brett, who was out of town. He did say that if the game was really close and down to the wire, get some quotes from head coach Ben Kramer and maybe do the story.

That’s exactly what happened. A text from Brett in the second half said to go ahead and write the story. Winner would hold off the Bison 18-14, but Hot Springs recovered two fourth quarter fumbles, one which led to a score and the other had them getting to the 1-yard line late only to see the play nullified because of a penalty. Winner, the defending Class 11B state champion and preseason No. 1 team, would hold the Bison off for the win.

So that means being in the working press covering high school football again for the 42^nd year. Or 41st. Something like that.

Dang I’m old.