Goose's Gabs

Football season began Friday. After two weeks of covering scrimmages, I finally got a chance to cover high school football in a town that cares about it more than any other sport.

How I cover the Buffaloes over these next two months will determine more than anything else my legacy as a sports writer at the McAlester News-Capital. So what happens seven minutes into the first game? The starting quarterback gets injured.

I can write about injuries when I have to, but I never enjoy doing so. If a pro player signs a $10 million deal and ticket prices go up because of it, then he gets hurt a week later, that’s a story worth telling. But a 16-year-old kid getting hurt? Is that anyone’s business but his family’s?

I don’t know what the exact injury is, and I won’t speculate publicly based on how little I know, but the kid fainted when he walked to the sideline. The coach said that in that situation, football becomes the last thing on his mind.

I agree with that sentiment, so writing about an injury — especially one that leads directly to a loss — always feels sketchy. The kid’s safety comes first, but as a game recap, my story by nature puts the game first. And that makes me look heartless, which I’m anything but.

So I did my best with the story, and I my editor liked it, so one week into my biggest beat of the year, things are o.k.

Here’s what else I wrote this week:

McAlester’s Selman dominates Coweta softball

Quinton softball run-rules Hartshorne

Lady Dawgs dominate with Bryn Houlton

Lester “Ripper” Wray to Race the Reaper Saturday

Know Your Foe: Stillwater

Panther bats too much for Jr. Buffs

Pioneers end Buffs home-win streak