You may be wondering why I’m posting a game story that is nearly two months old, but I can explain.

I recently attended an Athletic Advisory Committee meeting for school District 91 in Idaho Falls. The district includes Skyline and Idaho Falls High School.

One of the meeting’s topics was sportsmanship. A Committee member, Mike Morrison, opened the sportsmanship discussion by mentioning a gamer he read in the Post Register. The story, which recapped a Skyline-Hillcrest football game, mentioned two Skyline fans yelling at each other in the stands. Morrison said he was appalled when he read about this fan behavior.

As you can infer, the story Morrison mentioned was mine. The game was one of the more intense sporting events I’ve covered in Idaho Falls, as you can see here and below.

It was exciting to hear my story mentioned (even though Morrison didn’t know it was mine until I told him) for several reasons: A) It was a rare instance of reader feedback, B) it was viewed as a fair article and C) it helped spark a larger discussion of sportsmanship among fans at games. My goal for every story is to be fair and provide information to the public that people might not be aware of if not for my story. I’m glad my story had that effect.

Here’s the first section of my gamer:

The hostility was tangible.

The Skyline High School football team was on the wrong end of two pass interference penalties, and the Grizzlies’ heated disagreement resulted in extra flags. At one point, two Skyline fans got into a shouting match. At another point, two Skyline defenders got into a shoving match.

Skyline was tied with Hillcrest 14-14 when the anger boiled over. Four plays after the two Grizzly defenders engaged in a minor civil war, Hillcrest scored the game-winning touchdown. The Knights (5-1, 2-0) were far from their best, but they looked tranquil compared to the Grizzlies (3-3, 1-1) on Friday night at Ravsten Stadium. The intense 21-14 win keeps Hillcrest tied with Highland for the 5A District 5-6 lead.

‘Calls went against us in the first half and they went against (Skyline) in the second half,’ Hillcrest coach Jeff Marshall said. “I think that pretty much balanced out, but I feel fortunate about how things went in the second half.’

Before the Rigby High School football team played its state semifinal game on Nov. 15, 2014, I wrote a profile on the Trojans’ head coach, Randy Waite.

Here is the link to the story, and below is the first section:

The Rigby High School football team gathered in the film room Monday, excited to watch tape of its comeback victory over Lakeland in the 4A state quarterfinals.

Head coach Randy Waite came in, turned on the tape and showed one play: Solo Taylor’s fourth-quarter interception that sealed the 29-28 victory.

‘That’s over,’ Waite told his players. ‘Bishop Kelly now.’

Rigby’s matchup tonight at Bishop Kelly marks the Trojans’ first state semifinal appearance since 1999. In fact, 1999 was Rigby’s last winning season until last year: Waite’s first as head coach.

Rigby’s sudden improvement and Waite’s arrival are not coincidental, his players and assistant coaches say. Waite has transformed the football program from a doormat to a perennial playoff contender.

‘He’s one of the smartest football minds I’ve ever been around,’ senior running back Tyrel Phillips said.

On Nov. 1, I covered the final matches in Idaho’s 5A high school state volleyball tournament. My main focus was on the lone local team still alive in the tournament: Idaho Falls High School.

The Tigers won both of their matches. The second match was for the state title. Below are the opening paragraphs of my state final day recap for Idaho Falls. Here is the full story.

The Idaho Falls High School volleyball team prepared for its final serve of the season. Its bench players stood up, clenching each other’s hands. Those hands practically lost circulation as Coeur d’Alene attempted its return.

The return was powerful. But long.

The Tigers screamed in ecstasy as they piled onto the court. They were state champions.

‘I don’t even know what was going through my head,’ said senior Bailee Mills (8 total aces, 12 kills, 26 digs). ‘It was overwhelming.’

Idaho Falls needed to beat Coeur d’Alene in two matches Saturday at Skyline High School to receive the 5A state crown. The Tigers (33-9) dropped one set all day, a tight 25-22 win for the Vikings (21-5) in the second set of the title match. The 25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 25-15 win secured Idaho Falls’ fifth state championship in program history (and under head coach Wendy Johnson) and its first since 2011.

“(My players) are no drama, they’re hard workers, they’ve done everything I’ve asked,” Johnson said. “I’m just so ecstatic for them.”