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JOHNSTOWN -- Veteran Central coach Dave Baker shared a laugh with one of his fellow coaches Wednesday at the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference media day.
Upon further prodding, Baker mentioned he was laughing about being contacted in February by the Mirror to discuss the 2022 high school football season.
In this case, the coach wasn't exaggerating.
Blitz magazine, now in its 10th year, is a massive project that exhausts every extra hour in many departments of the Mirror. It could never be completed without the help of area coaches, like Baker, who answer our questions about their teams, even if it's sometimes begrudgingly, when the season is still no where in sight.
While high school wrestlers are pursuing state medals and baseball teams like Tyrone and Central are winning PIAA championships the last two seasons, we're typing in 2021 statistics and trying to do research on who might be a breakout sophomore for Southern Huntingdon's football team in the fall in addition to providing coverage of in-season events and putting out a daily paper.
Rainy days help.
What helps more is your support.
The magazine officially hits the shelves of many Sheetz, Martin's, Weis, Nic's Tobacco and Giant Eagle locations this weekend. It's still available at the Mirror's office (301 Cayuga Ave.) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. It sells for just $5.95.
I believe Blitz magazine provides a "Sports Illustrated" experience for our local athletes.
As a kid, I was always excited to read about each NFL team and what the major magazines thought of them.
Blitz provides that with high school football. Each conference we cover has each team picked in order of finish by that league's coaches. There's a feature story on 29 different schools about their senior classes and 29 scouting reports on the offensive, defensive and overall outlook.
There are probably at least 1,000 different kids who have their names in this year's magazine. If one of those is related to you, I'd suggest picking them up a copy. They might not say they care about having it now, but it will be something they treasure when they are older.
This year's cover features three star senior quarterbacks, all in the LHAC.
Central's Jeff Hoenstine, Penn Cambria's Garrett Harrold and Bishop Guilfoyle's Karson Kiesewetter were all very deserving of the recognition.
Hoenstine led his team to the 3A PIAA semifinals and was the Mirror's Male Athlete of the Year in 2021-2022 and the Class 3A Player of the Year. Harrold is a three-sport star and getting Division I looks at the next level, and Kiesewetter was the Class 1A Player of the Year and led BG to a PIAA Class 1A title last season.
Which of the three is the best?
"I don't know if I can answer that," Kiesewetter said. "I think it's a pretty good spread of who we've got there. I have confidence in myself, but they are two obviously great quarterbacks, two great athletes, two great players. I don't know. I'm going to have to say myself, but there are going to people say they are better than me, as good or me and we'll see when the season comes, I guess."
Part of that answer will come the first week of the season when Kiesewetter's Marauders host Hoenstine's Dragons.
"I might be a little biased on that statement, but you'd have to ask some other people, I guess," Hoenstine said. "Garrett and I are great friends. We respect each other on and off the field, and it's always a good time when we get to play each other."
Harrold is looking forward to the opportunity.
"I think both Jeff and Karson are very talented quarterbacks," Harrold said. "But I believe I am the best QB on the cover. I think I am determined more than ever to prove that, too."
Who is your pick?
Grab a copy of Blitz this weekend and make the choice on your own, but even more importantly support Hoenstine, Harrold, Kiesewetter and all the other local players, teams and advertisers that make the product possible.
And we'll do our part to keep bringing you the best product we can.
Michael Boytim can be reached at mboytim@altoonamirror.com or 814-946-7521. Follow him on Twitter @BoytimMichael.