Where does the time go? Starting my 20th season as a sports editor 

On July 17, 2007, I was named a sports editor for the first time, less than a year after entering the newspaper business as a staff reporter. Fast forward to 2026, and this is the start of my 20th season covering Highland County high school sports.

I’ve been lucky enough to cover roughly 2,900 games in my time writing about sports in Highland County, but this season, there is a lot to look forward to when fall arrives with the start of many sports, new rosters, new coaches, returning coaches and just the fact that we will have competitive athletics back for us to enjoy on a daily basis. It is an exciting time to be a sports fan. 

This season, I want to use some of this space to not only talk about the current day high school Highland County athletic scene, but look back at the previous games and players I’ve been fortunate to cover since I became a sports editor in ’07 and a general reporter in '06.

So much has happened since the first game I covered as a reporter in Highland County, which was a non-conference football game between McClain and Unioto (Week 2) where Unioto won 13-6 in Greenfield in September 2006, as I was actually a stringer that night and wasn’t officially hired until the following week. There also have been teams that have reached the state Final Four in basketball, soccer and baseball, and a couple seasons ago Hillsboro’s softball team made the state championship game. 

There have been moments with state champions in track and field, a state runner-up wrestler and cross-country runners, golfers and tennis state qualifiers who have made sports exciting in my time covering athletics. Both Hillsboro and McClain have reached the state playoffs in football, and many teams have been fun to watch in their journeys to win district championships and play at a very top-tier level. 

The newspaper/media business has always caught my attention more than anything, even though it has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Sure, I have those in sports who I cheered, but I’ve always had my favorite sports reporters too like Hal McCoy, Rick Reilly, Peter King, Peter Gammons and many others. The show "The Sports Reporters” on ESPN in the ’90s and ’00s is what also caught my attention, leading me to reading Dick Schaap’s autobiography “Flashing Before My Eyes,” and then the path (or addiction) to writing about sports began. 

There are many games and events I can look back on which I’ve been fortunate to cover that made a big imprint in the history of Highland County athletics, and many folks who have made high school athletics what they are in that same time frame. 

So hopefully reminiscing about past games and players this season, plus looking closely at current games will be fun for all of us, and that’s always been the goal for me since Day 1 … to be positive when covering high school sports, and to just enjoy the moments and the athletes doing their best. 

I’m even at the point of covering sports where I’ve spent just over half my life doing this as I started this as an intern at 20 years old in '05 — and I’ve got to the point of writing about the children of former athletes I’ve written about as well, which has affected me in wondering where had all the time went? 

All of that said, as practices, conditioning and scrimmages are all starting, good luck to all athletes, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, officials, custodial crews and volunteers involved in the upcoming 2026-27 high school sports season as it takes many people to have the sports we all love watching. Again, as this season begins, let's have some fun looking at the past couple decades as we watch the student-athletes of today compete and achieve success. 

Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. 
 

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 28 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.