THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: A special time of the year

There was always a little something special about those Friday Night Lights growing up in the Silver Valley.

Maybe even a little more once I started working at the Shoshone News-Press covering the schools at Kellogg, Wallace and Mullan in 2001.

Sure, they were long days at times.

But, yeah. It was worth it.

YOU COULD probably say that fans in that area were getting the best of both worlds in a way.

Anytime that Mullan was playing at home at John Drager Field, games started at either 3 or 3:30 p.m., as that field doesn’t have lights.

And I mean, where else could you find members of the rival school lining the sidelines before heading off to play in Silverton?

Sometimes, a decision had to be made on whether to go to the Wallace or Kellogg game at 7 if both teams happened to be playing at home that night.

At the time, you could track one game on the radio as you were driving back to the office. Other times, you just had to rely on the coaches or coworkers to write down scoring plays and relay that information to get at least something in the paper on each game.

Other times, you could rely on local radio, which oftentimes made the decision a lot easier by going to one game, so I could attend the other.

Not the most ideal situation, but you do what you need to, right?

FOR THE record, I never played a down of football in my life.

Instead, I was the kid that was selling the programs at the entrance of the field during Wallace High games at Sather Field in Silverton.

This was long before the days of having the rosters handed out at the gate. Oftentimes, we’d spend some time in the summer getting the advertising for the program as a fundraiser for the school’s Key Club, a community service organization that is tied to the Kiwanis service club.

It got to the point when the P.A. announcer came to get a roster, I’d sell him a program (the only way you could get a roster) because I didn’t want to give up that valuable information so easily. 

And of course, you’d try to sell one to the guys from the radio station, but often times I'd just hand them one as they had to get on the air.

I’d known both George White and Paul Robinson for years, seeing them at various events throughout my life growing up in Wallace.

But it was through those Friday nights working at the News-Press I found a new respect for them.

It was rare when they weren’t at a game at either Mullan or Kellogg. And you just knew when they drove across the field in Mullan, it was a big deal.

KWAL RADIO stopped broadcasting in 2021, and soon after, White passed away in 2022. 

More recently, Robinson joined his longtime broadcast partner in death on June 30.

Sure, it’s been a while since I’ve listened to a broadcast or had the need.

I’d see Paul every once in a while he was in the nursing home in Silverton, chat a little football and see how he was doing.

As those Friday Night Lights begin to burn bright again, I’ll admit it’s a little different this time around.

But it’s still really special.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.