Some work is just straight up labor. And then there’s my work.

When you get the opportunity to make a living telling the stories of some of the best, brightest and gifted student-athletes in all of Georgia, you don’t just call it labor. You call it a labor of love.

Now don’t get me wrong. Putting together The Covington News 2017-18 Football Preview was no easy task. Especially when we got down to the last couple of weeks, and even more, the last couple of days. It was an early morning, late night grind with hot summer afternoons in the sun sandwiched in between.

But one thing I can say without question: It was worth it.

The opportunity my sports staff and I had to chronicle the fruits of offseason preparation for our county’s football programs was definitely worth it. We had fun. We got the chance to know our sports community a little better, and I believe we also became better journalists because of it.

We hope you enjoy it. We wanted it to be a first-of-its-kind sports publication for our newspaper and this community, and I believe we accomplished that. We also wanted to provide you with a comprehensive look at football in our local context, touching on everything from middle school athletes to private schools, college and even highlighting some of our Newton County citizens who are actively playing in the NFL.

That said, we couldn’t jam everything we wanted to say into this 40 page magazine, but we definitely wanted to hit the highlights of the sport in our community, and hit it hard. So, our Sunday August 13 sports section in The Covington News will feature a place where each of our teams’ rosters – from middle school to high school, including private schools – will be printed. We’ll also include a glance at the football progress at Social Circle High School, and an extended look at our middle school football scene.

I want to give a special and personal thanks to every business in our community who advertised with us, as well as the advertising staff at The News, my sports staff and our editorial team, as well as our General Manager, Hosanna Fletcher.

And, as always, special thanks to you, our readers. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Enjoy the Preview, and tell us how we can do it better next year!

Gabriel Stovall is the award-winning sports editor for The Covington News. He’s covered high school and collegiate sports in Georgia for over eight years, and in Newton County since October 2016.