APSE

Before I get into a gallery of football section covers from those papers that participated in the recent exchange of preview sections, I wanted to talk about the process for our cover at the Antelope Valley Press.

First, being just a few months on the job as sports editor, I wanted to produce a section that was simple, clean, basic, informative. It was a conservative approach without reaching too far on a section theme.

Second, we committed to including team photos of the 18 schools fielding varsity teams, and our photo department did a great job with that end of the project.

Third, we did not have a clear choice as a team on which to focus for our preview. Two teams had won CIF-Southern Section division championships last year. One of those teams was a preseason No. 1 in its division this year, while a third team was shaping up as the most talented in the Antelope Valley and had a No. 1 ranking in its division.

Our theme for the section ended up "It’s about team," with the team photos and rosters a prominent portion.

The cover (left), done with assistance from designers in the marketing department who had created the section’s promotional material, featured four players from each of the three top schools. While the goal was to seek a balance of putting the area’s prominent teams in a prominent location, I still heard from people about their school about not having the dominant photo.

The covers from Sauk Valley (Ill.) Newspapers; the Southeast Missourian; the News-Herald of Willoughby, Ohio; the North County Times of Escondido, Calif.; and the Florence, Ala., TimesDaily appeared in the last entry.

Florence also included its college section in the exchange along with its high school section. The section includes Alabama and Auburn in addition to North Alabama.

The cover is simple, but certainly catches attention because it’s a shot of North Alabama’s new coach, Terry Bowden, and a quote.

The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana had a simple, but intriguing cover shot. The paper did a "five-part cover story" featuring players stepping into the spotlight for the first time. With five players featured inside, the cover was generic but the staff photo was taken from an unusual angle and with interesting lighting.

The Virginian-Pilot had two "covers" in its college football section. The color front — part of a four-page wrap about Old Dominion’s first season in 69 years — featured Old Dominion safety Devon Simmons. (Interestingly, a color triangular-shaped ad in the bottom left corner promoted the Stihl Soccer Classic.)

Another cover inside the wrap kicked off the college football preview, with Virginia Tech’s quest for a national championship. (The school has a trophy case reserved for that award.)

The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas featured the art of Vic Harville on its covers. I enjoy the illustrations that are reminiscent of the old days of journalism. And, as animation fans know, the advantage of illustrations is being able to exaggerate beyond real life, such as Ryan Mallett’s cannon arm (below left).

The Independent Record of Helena, Mont., also went with an illustration for the cover. Instead of players or teams, the paper put its logo — the "ir" part of helenair.com — on a football helmet.

The Peoria Journal Star published a front page dominated by a cinder block, representing the offensive linemen as the building blocks to any team’s success.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Hometeam section, which is is stapled to hold it together, carries a magazine feel from the cover through inside pages.

The Daily Mining Gazette’s Copper Country Kickoff section was led by a cover story on Michigan Tech’s kicker.

The News-Topic of Lenior, N.C., themed its section "Racing to the playoffs," and it gathered three players and three coaches for a photo on the checkered finish line at a local race track. Sports editor Bill Kiser took the photo — and wrote some of the previews. The picture is so interesting, I wouldn’t have minded a few graphs inside explaining the cover concept — where it was shot, why those players, etc., in the 12-page section.

The cover for the News-Register from McMinnville, Ore., mixes color and black-and-white elements.

And doubletrucks, too

The Sandusky Register’s preview section looks at the Hometown Showdown between Sandusky and Perkins. The theme, "It’s about time," refers to the two schools finally meeting on the football team in a matchup the city has been waiting years to see.

I did not see any note explaining the mix of photography and design work done to produce the cover.

The doubletruck had a story on each team.
 

The Citizens’ Voice (below) in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., slipped some camouflage into its Gameface nameplate, with the cover story on a player who plans to play football at the U.S. Military Academy.

The feature appeared in a doubletruck, along with capsules on other top players in the area.

The Daily Record (below) of Morris County, N.J., had two local players on its cover, and also ran the cover feature in the centerspread, with a nice photo.

In the final installment, I will offer some inside pages: Team and league previews, schedule pages, and even a table of contents or two.