I’ve mentioned before that I began at the Gazette-Mail in 1994, but didn’t start covering the high school football beat until the fall of 1996.

John Kelley realizes he might be sitting on a powder keg — and it has nothing to do with his University High football team, even though the Hawks do expect to improve this season.

When Gov. Jim Justice delayed the start of the school year until Sept. 8 because of COVID-19 and effectively wiped out the first week of the high school football season in West Virginia, it sent coaches and athletic directors across the state scurrying to find a 10th game for their teams.

Many years ago, a friend was dating a girl who knew nothing about football. She thought the object of the game was for all the players to run together in a big pile, which is the way many plays end.

Earlier in these days of coronavirus — certainly not to be confused with the days of wine and roses — I reflected on some of the most memorable games I’ve covered in 42 years as a sports reporter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Tenth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ninth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

Certainly, some people were disappointed when the Friday Night Rivals North-South All-Star Football Classic announced Wednesday that it had to postpone the 67th installment of its game until July 10, pending approval from state and local authorities because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s been a difficult few months for the athletics family at South Charleston High School.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Eighth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

I ran into Calvin Bailey a lot in my days at the Gazette and the Gazette-Mail. Most of the time, it came when I was out covering a high school game.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Seventh in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sixth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Fifth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Fourth in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Third in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Second in a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

EDITOR’S NOTE: First of a series. Staff writer Rick Ryan has seen a lot come and go in his newspaper career. Following are recollections from his days at the Wheeling Intelligencer (1978-90), Asheville Citizen-Times, N.C. (1990-94) and Charleston Gazette-Mail (1994-2020).

Our email accounts at the newspaper get flooded with a steady stream of junk, but one particular item caught my eye earlier this week when it crossed into my inbox.

Wednesday was supposed to be the day that the boys state basketball tournament tipped off. But the coronavirus shot down that notion before it ever started.

I used to joke with fellow reporters years ago that I didn’t look forward to interviewing coach John Messinger after South Charleston football games because he was such a talker that it put me in a deadline pinch.

Not every conversation with a high school football coach this time of year deals with X’s and O’s. Sometimes, you go a little bit deeper.