Sports

All six Van Zandt County varsity football teams were involved in pre-season scrimmages Aug. 15 as the countdown to the regular season openers on Friday, Aug. 29 continues. Among the teams scrimmaging were the Van Vandals as they hosted the Corsicana Tigers at Van’s Memorial Stadium. Van, Wills Point, and Fruitvale will open their regular seasons at home while Canton, Grand Saline, and Edgewood will start their 2025 campaigns on the road.

The start of the 2025 high school football season Friday, Aug. 29, in Van Zandt County means the return of the Van Zandt News Football Contest, now in its 44th season.

davidb@vanzandtnews.com After practicing against their teammates over the past few days, Van Zandt County varsity football teams now have the opportunity to show what they have learned against a different opponent as preparations for the 2025 regular season continues.

My first experience with using downriggers for stripers and hybrid stripers occurred 30 years ago. I was fishing with a very experienced guide that specialized in using downriggers, a very effective method of trolling lures at a specific depth using a heavy metal ball to maintain the proper depth.

Catching fish can be a challenging endeavor especially when conditions change quickly and patterns that have been as constant as the Polar star fail to produce bites. Such was the case with a striper fishing trip at Lake Texoma last week with my friends at Striper Express.

With an estimated crowd of 500 in attendance May 12, the annual Van High School Sports Banquet was held in the VHS Cafetorium. Easton Hinch and Caden Rowe were named as the Male Athletes of the Year while Kaelyn Harvey and Averi Crouch were selected as the Female Athletes of the Year.

STATE BOUND.