How do you keep up with prep football games?

My system is fairly rudimentary but fits in a reporter's notebook.... Goes something like this....

Podunk
1-10-20 Smith 4 lt (1-4) *That's a rush by Smith for 4 yards off left tackle, cumulative 1-4*
2-6-24 Smith 5 rs (2-9) *Right-side sweep by Smith for 5 yards, cumulative 2-9*
3-1-29 comp-Jones 10 (1-1-10 1-10) *Pass complete to Jones for 10 yards, QB 1-1-10 cumulative, Jones 1-10 cumulative*
___________________ *horizontal line to note first down*
1-10-39 Smith -4 ls (3-5) *Smith left-side sweep loses 4, cumulative 3-5*
2-14-35 inc (1-2-10) *incomplete pass, QB 1-2-10 cumulative*
and so on.....

Total everything up at halftime; final stats (passing, rushing, receiving, first downs, turnovers, scoring, total yardage) can be done in about two minutes at the end of the game. Only time I've seen it get hairy is with platooned QBs.

 

Doing prep football stats is equal parts art and science, and it's never easy. Everyone has there own system and none are perfect. You're dealing with multiple variables including weather, systems (pray you don't have to cover an option offense on a regular basis) and unwritten rules about where you're allowed to be. I developed a system about 20 years ago that's served me well.
I use a clipboard with 5 copied grid pages for play-by-play:
[yd line/down and yardage/play description (i.e. 32 + 7, meaning 32 gained 7 yards, or 12 - 32 + 17, meaning 12 completed pass to 32 for 17 yards, or 12x, meaning 12 threw incompletion)/first down x 2 (1 side of the page for home, the other side for visitor)]
The grid pages are precopied and stapled. Underneath my 5 pages of play-by-play, I have a sheet of paper where I fill in score by quarters and a scoring summary taped to the clipboard.
On the back of the clipboard I keep running totals on a page taped to the clipboard.

A few other pointers. I always prefer working the sidelines if I can. I get a better sense of what's going on in the game, and am able to ask officials (usually helpful) if I have questions about a call. There's an adrenaline you get from being on your feet and connection to the game you lose in a press box that lulls me to sleep.
Also, if you're stuck in the rain, don't panic. Buy a handful of clear ponchos and you can keep notes under your poncho. Using a smearproof pen helps too.
Good luck!

 

If it's going to be below 20 degrees, keep a pencil handy.

 

I might just be in a lucky situation, but I generally walk down from the press box with the stats guys and speak with them en route to postgame interviews. Takes no extra time in most situations.

The first daily I worked at had no Saturday edition, which, of course, provided all the time I needed to get anything. Not that lucky any longer.

 

I bet Podunk won. Shelbyville's usually not very good.

 

How do you keep up with prep football game? .... begrudgingly

 

good stuff ... now try doing all this while also taking photos ...

believe it or not I actually enjoy doing both, though my notes are a lot more crude ... I've gotten decent at keeping up with the major stuff. the only thing I really can't do is keep running cumulative stat tallies in my notes... not enough time between plays...

 

i tip my cap in your direction.

solid stuff.

 

Good point, Tucson. I started out on the sidelines because I used to have to shoot games and cover them for a weekly. Even though I don't have to shoot anymore, it's still the best place to cover a prep game (it's not like anyone hands you stats in the press box).

Plus, when you're on the sideline and some kid who's not listed in the program carries the ball or recovers a fumble, you can ask around and find out who he is. In the press box, sometimes you can't even see the numbers on plays across the field -- especially when it's muddy.

Oh, and regarding precipitation: Always carry a pencil or two to keep notes under your poncho/raincoat.

I never mind seeing a thread about prep football; it's my favorite sport to watch and/or cover. Just think, SportsJournalists.comers, we're almost through the spring sports season ...

 

I'm too cheap to invest in a scorebook, so I use my little reporter's notebook as a makeshift version of the scorebook I used when I was keeping stats as a high school senior. It allows me to keep a running tally of passing, rushing, receiving, first downs, penalties and return yardage.

I flip a couple pages over to denote big plays or moments, as well as scores. and I usually put the game time (always do on scoring plays).

it takes me about 5-10 minutes to total everything up when I get back to the office.

 

[quote author=I Should Coco l
I never mind seeing a thread about prep football; it's my favorite sport to watch and/or cover. Just think, SportsJournalists.comers, we're almost through the spring sports season ...
[/quote]

Thank goodness. Of the things I cover, JUCO basketball is my favorite, but growing up in the Deep South and everything that entails with high school football, there's something special about it. You certainly feel like people are reading your stuff.

And football season is so much easier on us than the spring, even though we cover it exhaustingly.

 

I know some guys like being on the sidelines, not me.

For starters, the sightlines are terrible and I was always peering around someone and trying to figure out if the runner stepped out of bounds on the 20-yard line or the 15.

I also have a physical condition that limits my ability to stand for long amounts of time. And then there is the weather factor: wind, rain, even sleet or snow occasionally. I figure if a press box is good enough for the coaches and the pro reporters, there's a reason for that.

I can't imagine how one person could shoot photos and do stats. I'd need help to do both.