By the time you read this column, yours truly will officially be on vacation.
It has been a long haul since the start of football season last August and we are almost there again already.
A lot has changed since the football in 2015.
First, lets tackle the biggest change. The News has welcomed I.C. Murrell has the new sports editor in place of the retired Bob West.
There is no denying West is still missed. You can never fully replace a legend like Bob and Murrell would be the first to tell you that himself.
Murrell though has really done a great job since he came on board. He has taught me a few new things and it has been great working with him for almost a year.
The beauty of my relationship with Murrell is real simple — we are different people. It works well in my eyes. I can be loud and sometimes a little out there with my ideas while Murrell is here to bring me back down to Earth.
Now the real issue for this column this week is a look ahead to when my vacation is over. It will be as close to football season as you can possibly get.
There are a few things that have me excited and I want to point out some of the big storylines to look for this year.
The first is obviously at Port Arthur Memorial. The Titans dropped down to Class 5A and will be in District 22-5A. Memorial has struggled the last two seasons in Class 6A so it will be interesting to see what happens with Kenny Harrison and the Titans when they are the big dog in a district.
Kary Vincent Jr. is also a big topic at Memorial. Vincent holds 32 college offers at the time this column was written and the last coming from Alabama. Where Vincent heads is a huge topic across the country since he is No. 22 on ESPN’s 300 best recruits.
The news with PNG will revolve around the quarterback position left vacant by the graduated Adam Morse. Incoming sophomore Roschon Johnson appears headed to being named the starter with Austin Bost also in the running.
Nederland is going to try to be Nederland once again. The Bulldogs have won at least a share of the district title for five straight years under Larry Neumann.
Neumann is the best at using the talent he has and replacing stars. Will he do it again this year after the departure of running back Austin Krautz?
In another sport, I cannot wait to cover a PNG volleyball match and know I covered a Hall of Famer at work.
I can’t say congratulations enough to coach Barbara Comeaux who was inducted into the Texas Girls Coaches Association Hall of Fame this past Thursday.
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Gabriel Pruett: 721-2436. Twitter: @PaNewsGabe