The Blitz - behind the scenes
High School football is more than just a sport in the Carolinas. It's a vital part of the communities that make up this part of the world - a tradition handed down from one generation to the next.Every Friday night, hundreds of high school players, coaches, cheerleaders, band members, and fans put on their team's colors and head out to their stadium for three-plus hours of action on and off the field.
There to cover it all is News 13 Sports.
Matt Lincoln and Chris Fischer lead a team of photojournalists who canvas the sidelines from Andrews to Aynor, Myrtle Beach to Marion, Florence to Myrtle Beach and all points in between.
Most of our photojournalists shoot at least two games a week, shooting the first half on one game, packing up, and driving several miles on back roads, to catch the second half of another game, before heading back to the station to cut their highlights and turn in their shot sheets.
But that's only part of the game plan. After shooting his game or games, Matt has the enviable job of trying to gather scores from coaches and athletic directors across the Pee Dee, Grand Strand, and Eastern North Carolina. He does this while helping our web producers update scnow.com and send out Text Alerts featuring halftime and final scores.
Meanwhile, Chris and his photographer are still in the field - setting up a live shot and feeding in highlights from the game of the week.
When the clock strikes 11:10, it's show time. Matt runs through dozens of highlight reels -trying to keep up with the action that's unfolding on your TV screen. Behind the scenes, our producers Molly Baker and Chasity Pendergrass are tracking down missing tapes, updating the score ticker, and timing out the show.
All this is just a glimpse at what goes on to make The Blitz happen every Friday night.
So tonight, as you head out to see your favorite high school team play - you should know there's another team out there, on every sideline, working hard to succeed too.
It's a winning team - one I am very proud of.
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on 09/21 at 03:31 PM
