Football season is a time for new beginnings

Two Sundays from now, this fine publication will have stories about the first game of the season played by whatever your favorite high school is.

Ain't it great?

Football is the beginning of a cycle. When the school year starts, the sport that signifies the beginning is the first football game. Baseball caps things off.

In the professional world, it's the opposite. When you think of major league baseball, you think of that as the beginning because of spring and football as the end since its season ends in winter.

And new beginnings mean that the past is a memory -- sometimes pleasant, sometimes not -- that can be enjoyed but has little bearing on things to come.

Fort Scott Community College is surrounded by optimism as a new coaching staff takes over and changes attitudes. But at the same time, there's still a 22-game losing streak that needs to come to an end.

It's entirely possible, given that the first two games are a long road trip to Texas and a home game against Jayhawk Conference powerhouse Coffeyville, that that streak could (which does not necessarily mean will) reach 24. The date to look to is Sept. 9 when the Greyhounds host Independence.

There are not very many sophomores coming back. That means this Greyhound team will be dominated by freshmen coached by men who know nothing of this losing streak other than it's there.

But on the first night of play, Aug. 26 at Navarro, a losing streak will be the last thing on anyone's mind, sophomore or not.

The magic number is not 22. It's one.

If the Greyhounds lose, it's not a 23rd loss. It's just one. If they win, it's not the end of a 22-game losing streak. It's the first of multiple victories this season. Regardless, the magic number the next week will still be one.

There's another team in our area that will be looking at a magic number this season. That's Pleasanton and the number is 11.

For the second time in 10 years, Pleasanton has been bumped up from eight-man football to 11-man (There's a 100-student maximum for eight-man football in Kansas; if your school is bigger than that, it must play 11-man). The last time the Blu-Jays were up in 11-man, they struggled. When they went back down to eight-man two years later, they began to thrive.

Which way will it go for the Blu-Jays this time? It's hard to tell from here although I've never known Chris Brindle to bring anything but a positive attitude to the way he approaches things. This year is no different. This year, he gets offensive tackles and an extra receiver . But other than that, it's like any other year.

The Blu-Jays have been tossed into a tough district. Class 2-1A power Pittsburg Colgan is in it as is a Uniontown team that is expected to give Colgan a serious challenge this year. And before district play, Pleasanton has to play three other CNC League schools, all of them Class 3A teams, and Sedan, always a tough team.

Coach Brindle's pre-season answer sheet sits on my desk as I write this. What's he got to say about the schedule?

"It will be a good challenge for our young team."

Pleasanton, see, still has a few good returning players. Even though the Jays lost an All-State quarterback, they still will return about 2,000 rushing yards among a few other players.

So why should they worry?

Most people will think of the fall as a time when things end. But that's not always true.

Around here, as summer turns to autumn, there are only beginnings.