Messenger To Spotlight Football Game of the Week — Season-long feature will include full previews and post-game summaries

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

MESSENGER OFFICE — The Messenger will feature one Game of the Week during the 2026 local football season, providing readers with a full preview before kickoff and a post-game summary after the final whistle.

The weekly feature will spotlight teams from across the area, including the Grapeland Sandies, Lovelady Lions, Crockett Bulldogs and Elkhart Elks, along with their opponents.

The Game of the Week schedule begins Aug. 27, when Grapeland travels to Elkhart for a 7 p.m. matchup at Jerry Ives Memorial Stadium.

The remaining scheduled games are:

* Sept. 9 — Lovelady at Grapeland, 7 p.m., Jerry Richards Field

* Sept. 11 — New Waverly at Crockett, 7:30 p.m., Monte Jack Driskell Stadium

* Sept. 18 — Winona at Elkhart, 7 p.m., Jerry Ives Memorial Stadium

* Sept. 25 — Grapeland at Cushing, 7 p.m., J.F. Whitaker Stadium

* Oct. 2 — Alto at Grapeland, 7 p.m., Jerry Richards Field

* Oct. 9 — Diboll at Crockett, 7:30 p.m., Monte Jack Driskell Stadium

* Oct. 16 — Cross Roads at Grapeland, 7 p.m., Jerry Richards Field

* Oct. 23 — Groveton at Lovelady, 7 p.m., Lion Stadium

* Oct. 30 — Trinity at Crockett, 7:30 p.m., Monte Jack Driskell Stadium

The Nov. 6 Game of the Week opponent, time and location will be announced later.

The new feature will give local teams and their supporters additional coverage throughout the season, with each selected matchup receiving attention before and after the game.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]