Storm Center Column: Hope springs eternal for football teams

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest.”

The above line saying comes from English poet, translator and satirist Alexander Pope, who lived in both the 17th and 18th Centuries.

You’ll often find Pope quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, and he was noted for his work “An Essay on Criticism.”

Kennett High School assistant football coach Ricky Thompson talks to an unidentified player during a practice session on Wednesday, Aug. 16. (Democrat photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

But, what does Pope have to do with football?

Plenty, if you ask me.

Especially since for football teams, hope springs eternal for this fall sport.

Both the Kennett and Malden High School football teams are hard at work, toiling in the sultry Bootheel sun preparing for the season ahead.

Kennett traveled to Cape Central on Friday for a jamboree; meanwhile, Malden ventured to Charleston.

The Indians have their printed schedules all over the community, and the theme this year is “Maintain The Tradition.”

This will mark the third season with Andrew Webster at the helm in Kennett, and the Indians are coming off a 7-4 campaign in 2022.

Football tradition has been a recent thing for Kennett, finishing at or above .500 since 2014 when the Indians were 6-6.

Kennett claimed two district championships in 2018 and 2019, with the latter squad racking up 13 wins while averaging 42.5 points per game.

Meanwhile, Malden has fallen on hard times in recent years, including the winless 2022 season. The Green Wave has not produced a winning record since 2017.

For the youth of Malden, it’s important for them to realize success can be had.

In the not too distant past, the Green Wave was a juggernaut.

In 2015, Malden raced to 14-1 record and second-place finish in the state. Two additional district championships bookend those bountiful seasons. From 2014-17, the Green Wave won 48 games while averaging more than 44 points per game per season.

Next Friday evening, the Delta Dunklin Democrat kicks off another season of football coverage.

New sports editor Eric Viccaro will remain in Kennett as the Indians play host to Hayti at Metz Cherry Stadium.

Most recent sports editor Christian Johnson will travel to Caruthersville for Malden’s opener.

Johnson has worked so diligently on the football tabloid, which will be found in next Thursday’s edition.

By the way, if you would like to have a fall sports schedule for Kennett and Malden, we have extras. Just stop by our office located at 203 First Street.

Deadline is a big word in the newspaper, and ours has been set at 10:30 p.m.

That’s how we’ll roll.

For the public, that means short recaps will be found in the weekend newspaper beginning with the Aug. 26 edition.

Every single edition of the newspaper will have some sort of football coverage through Oct. 31. Yes, Halloween.

In order to provide blanket coverage on this sport, game scoring summaries and full statistics will appear on Tuesdays, plus a short analysis piece.

The following week’s games will be previewed in the Thursday edition.

We’re looking forward to providing everyone with the kind of quality you readers have come to expect. Same goes for our online subscribers at SEMOBALL.com.

We’re looking forward to a hopeful deep playoff run for Kennett.

And we’re looking forward to seeing Malden right the Green Wave ship under first-year head coach Shane Kearbey.

After all, hope springs eternal. Even in the upcoming autumn of our days. Best wishes for a great season, everyone.