You can also reach out to Columbian Subscriber Services at circulation@columbian.com or (360) 694-2312 about how to get a copy.
A digital version of the section will be available at Columbian.com and 360preps.com in the coming days.
But in this case, nothing beats having a physical paper copy to hold onto.
Ticket prices
Admission to high school games in all local leagues is $7 for adults and students without an ASB card.
Each league also offers a discounted $5 admission fee, but each local league has a different policy as to whom that price applies.
In the 4A/3A GSHL, it applies to visiting students with an ASB or elementary-aged students.
In the 2A GSHL, it applies to the aforementioned students, plus active members of the military and veterans.
In the Trico, it applies to visiting students with ASB, elementary students and seniors (although the age of the seniors is not stipulated on the league website).
In the 4A/3A GSHL, children under the age of 5 and seniors 62 and over get in free. In the 2A GSHL, it’s kids under 5 and seniors 65 and over, and in the Trico, free admission only applies to kids under 5.
Travel woes
The construction work on the I-5 bridge at Woodland over the Lewis River continues. It impacts travel on southbound Interstate 5.
The Washington State Department of Transportation says that backups can be especially bad on Fridays and Saturdays, with delays extending up to 70 minutes.
WSDOT said the project began on July 23 and is expected to take up to two months to complete. That would put the end date sometime in September.
That means Week 1 of prep football will be impacted, possibly Week 2, and maybe even Week 3. That would not be a good thing as the 2A GSHL and Trico League begin league play in Week 3.
Hopefully, local athletic directors have let opposing schools know of this delay. In Week 1 of football, Camas hosts Roosevelt of Seattle and Hockinson hosts Fife.
Anyone planning on traveling south across the Cowlitz/Clark county line in the coming weeks should plan to add an hour to their travel time.
Online watching
If you don’t have a subscription for the NFHS Network, I would encourage you to look into it.
Monthly subscription is $11.99, which is equal to a 1.5 general admission tickets to watch a game in person.
Several area high schools broadcast games on the NFHS Network, including Castle Rock, Kelso, Kalama, Woodland, Columbia River, Camas, Stevenson and Columbia-White Salmon. Many games from out-of-area schools are often available on the NFHS Network.
Nick Sisson of N2 Media offers free broadcasts on his YouTube channel. Nick generally broadcasts games from Longview Memorial Stadium but has games on his schedule this fall at Ridgefield and Kalama as well.
VPS Game Time (Vancouver Public Schools), EPS Sports (Evergreen Public Schools) and BGTV 27 (Battle Ground Schools) broadcast games for free from Kiggins Bowl, McKenzie Stadium and District Stadium respectively on cable access channels in Vancouver as well as their YouTube channels.
However, these are student-run broadcast teams, so getting things set up for early-season games can take time. They may not be up-and-running for Week 1.
Check out the preps blog
Every Thursday during the high school football season, I post preview capsules on every game involving teams from Southwest Washington on our preps sports blog.
These capsules include information like game times, sites, team records, past meetings, plus viewing options.
I will be checking with schools on the latest information for viewing, so check back there for more updated information.
