On the last weekend of this month high school football will officially be underway as the LaSalle High School Tigers and the Jena High School Giants participate in football jamborees in Columbia and Monroe, respectively. Next week, this newspaper will feature our annual Football Preview Section with team photos along with cheerleaders, dance lines and bands. Sports writers will also begin their work as they preview each schools’ teams and recap scrimmages that are set for this Friday night. To kick the season off, the head coaches of both teams sat down for an interview last week discussing their 2024 squads, making special effort to thank all fans from both schools for their support. The first game of the season is set for September 6 as both teams will be at home. LaSalle will face Delta Charter and Jena will face Mangham. Starting on Page 1B in this issue of our Sports Section, read about the LaSalle Tigers’ new head coach Hunter Johnson and the foundation he is laying followed by a story about Jay Roark as he enters year 13 at the helm and the motivation for this year’s Jena Giants. We present these special reports to wet your appetite for the start of the 2024 high school football season!