WRAL-TV Readies for High School Football Season with HSOT Live Kickoff

On Tuesday, July 25, 2017, nearly 100 coaches, players, seasonal employees and full-time staff gathered to usher in the official start of the high school football season. The High School OT Live Kickoff took place at WRAL-TV. The event included a program to make important announcements about HSOT Live and Football Friday, and everyone was treated to a catered lunch.

High School OT.com Sr. Editor Nick Stevens took the podium first to announce one of this year’s sponsors, Vision Sports. He also made an exciting announcement: HSOT Live will now be seen on TV in addition to digital platforms. And during the first week of HSOT Live, the studio show will air on WRAL-TV for the first hour of coverage. That inaugural show will air 7pm-8pm on Friday, August 18.

WRAL-TV Sports Anchor Jeff Gravley also welcomed the crowd and unveiled an exciting change for Football Friday. He debuted the brand new logo! The logo changes, but WRAL’s 37-year commitment to high school stays the same.

Gravley talked to the crowd and he encouraged them to “never take the opportunity to play high school football for granted. You’ll never get the chance again.”

All of those in attendance enjoyed a lunch catered by Moe’s before everyone split up for interviews. Players and coaches were assigned “press rooms” where they were interviewed about their teams, their outlooks for the season, and what they’re looking to improve as the season progresses.

“It was great to see so much excitement about high school football,” said WRAL-TV Assignment Editor Kelly Riner, the producer for both HSOT and Football Friday. “Last year, we launched something that had never been done anywhere in the country. This year, we hope to continue to expand the HSOT Live audience and grow our coverage area. Nick and I really appreciate CBC’s commitment to covering high school sports.” “I also look forward to working with Jeff Gravley on Football Friday again this year. We’ve got some fresh ideas that will continue to push the show forward.”

Thanks to WRAL-TV’s Kelly Riner for this capcom scoop & to Riner and Suzie Wolf for these capcom photos.

HSOT Live Kickoff — HSOT’s Nick Stevens and Coach Wayne Bragg, with producer Kelly Riner, will be back to host the HSOT Live studio show again this year. The season premiere will take place on August 18. Photo credit: Suzie Wolf — with Nick Stevens andWayne Bragg.

WRAL-TV Sports Anchor Jeff Gravley unveiled the new Football Friday logo for the 2017 season.