By MONTE DUTTON

There’s an old baseball movie called It Happens Every Spring.

It happens every fall, too.

When I was growing up / The biggest thing around our town / Was watching my old high school play / They didn’t mess around.

Before the week is over, all the football teams about which I write and care – alphabetically, Clinton High, Furman University, Laurens Academy, Laurens District, Presbyterian College and Thornwell Charter – will be practicing in earnest.

Clinton hosts Easley and Fountain Inn, and Laurens goes to Greenville, on Thursday to scrimmage J.L. Mann. Both are at 6 p.m.

The following Monday, Aug. 7, Mauldin is at Laurens at 6, and Chapin is at Clinton at 7.l

On Friday, Aug. 11, Laurens and Clinton both take part in the Bill Pate White Rose Football Classic in York. The Raiders open the proceedings versus Fort Mill at 6, and the Red Devils bring down the curtain against host York at 9 or thereabouts. Thornwell’s first varsity team is playing Great Falls (Saints vs. Red Devils) at 6 in the opening period of the Chester County Football Jamboree at Chester High.

On Saturday, the Crusaders are taking part in a jamboree hosted by Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro.

The so-called “Week Zero” of high-school, Aug. 18, finds Laurens at home versus Hillcrest, Clinton at Batesburg-Leesville and LA taking on the home-schooled Augusta Eagles in North August.

Furman opens its season at Paladin Stadium on Thursday night, Aug. 31, versus Tennessee Tech.

Thornwell opens its season on Sept. 1 at Calhoun Falls Charter.

Presbyterian visits Murray (Ky.) State on Sept. 2.

Now we’re in the countdown to kickoffs.

Quite obviously, NASCAR would race Tuesday at 7 a.m. if TV so desired. Richmond combated the summer heat with Cup races on Saturday nights for years. A general conclusion is that every race is run when the network detects the weakest competition in the Nielsen ratings.

When my job was writing about the sport, I enjoyed day races because it gave me time to write without the deadline pressure of night races. That’s all changed. Newspapers won’t go an extra minute to get a late sporting event in. I took pride in writing a story at the last minute, but it was just art of the possible: the best I could do in the allotted time, like taking the college boards.

Now nothing is on deadline, and everything is. It’s nice to do it my way, but mine is not the way of the world.

One of the sport’s more underrated drivers, Chris Buescher, gave Ford what has been a rare victory this season.

I appreciated the Atlanta Braves taking a two-game break at Fenway Park last week.

Back at their suburban home palace, the Braves couldn’t have hit the ball much better against Milwaukee had the Brewers been throwing underhand.

Remain calm. All is well.

I smell football. It smells like grass and soured sweat. Actually it’s a bit tidier since my day, but I can still imagine it and it causes chills to run down my spine.

These are only first impressions. Clinton expects to be strong again in spite of all the possible excuses to the contrary. I don’t have a clue about Laurens and Laurens Academy. Then again I watched the Raiders without helmets on and the Crusaders sitting in a classroom. If I can make radar contact with Thornwell, I’ll stroll by there and take a look soon.

If you enjoy the way I cover sports and want to make it better, make a contribution by sending a check to DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325 or become a patron and make a small monthly donation. It helps indirectly if you buy one of my books at MonteDutton.net.

Support local music by attending — and participating in — the Open Mic I’m hosting at Fiesta Grande on Wednesday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m. Sign-up is at 6:45. Just bring your guitar, or whatever, and friends to cheer you on.