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Denny Grall column: It’s time to leave the Daily Press again

ESCANABA — It is time to pull a Brett Favre.

Retirement beckons once more from this cherished position, seven months after coming out of retirement to fill two openings on the sports desk.

Mike Mattson and Avery Bundgaard are ready to take over the reins, which means it is time to skidaddle once more. March 1 will mark my second farewell, and even though the timing is right, it is not something I’ve been looking forward to doing.

Aug. 1 marked the return from a four-year retirement, and the transition back to the Daily Press went very smooth and quickly became memorable. Frankly, I’ve had a blast doing something I’ve always loved.

Thank you North Central Jets for providing so many highlights this time around.

Getting to cover a state championship game, and a record-setting one at that, was fantastic.

Jason Whitens ran for a state record 359 yards in the 58-22 conquest of Deckerville for the eight-player state title as the Jets expanded their winning streak to 26 games – 27 when you count their final 11-player game in 2014.

That was just a precursor to more sensational Jets’ moments, topped by North Central setting an all-time boys basketball state record by eclipsing the hallowed 59-year-old mark of 65 straight victories by Chassell.

It isn’t often we get to report on such momentous events in the Upper Peninsula.

The only other high school state title teams I covered in the original 43 years were the Mid Peninsula girls basketball team in 1977 and the Gladstone girls softball teams of 2004 and 2009.

What special memories, from two different tenures at this desk.

The Daily Press, area teams and fans have provided so many special memories since beginning here in 1970.

Many of them were discussed upon my initial retirement in 2012, and never did I expect a return to full-time status. But when the call came for help, I was elated to return.

Several articles were written during the four-year hiatus, but getting to put out the daily paper again, with the adrenalin rush of deadline pressure always a constant, is a challenge and exciting to feel. It does become hectic and stressful, no question, but that has always been part of the fun of this position.

Notice, I do not say work, because it never was work. It has always been fun, with some days at a higher stress level to be sure.

A couple of Fridays ago it was especially hectic as deadline approached, and finding time and space to squeeze everything onto the pages was seemingly not going to happen. But Mike, Avery and John Vrancic all came together at crunch time and we did it again.

The most thrilling game of this stint occurred when Gladstone rallied in the final minutes to stun Marquette 46-45 in a high school football game.

So much happened, in a very short time, handling the pictures, writing the story and shipping it to Marquette and then putting the pages together in about 90 minutes made for an unforgettable evening.

Gladstone coach Jeff Hansen told his players after the game “this is one of the most memorable football games ever played on this field.”

Because of the deadline situation, it also made for one of the most memorable games I’ve had the privilige to cover for our readers, akin to the late Jerry Cvengros’ final football game at Escanaba in 1984.

It is reporting on those kind of events that made it so incredible to serve the Daily Press and you, which puts it on an entirely special level.

Thank you once again for allowing me to come into your homes by filling more scrapbooks for all of our athletes. It is something I never took for granted, and will be seriously missed as I leave you again.

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