Two months here have me excited for what’s next.

I started this job the first of April, and I’d be lying if I said I had a full grasp of the sports landscape within Lincoln County and the surrounding area.

The baseball and softball in this area is top notch, and with the timing of my arrival I jumped right into teams in the middle of their playoff runs.

My first game to cover was Loyd Star and West Lincoln baseball, where the Hornets had to win three straight games to win the district title.

They did just that.

The Hornets would turn that district championship into a second round playoff series against Taylorsville.

The second game I covered was an Enterprise playoff game against Pisgah, and the Yellow Jackets ran the Dragons off the field and advanced to the third round against Perry Central.

I was able to cover Lawrence County’s state championship series run, the first in program history. I covered Brookhaven Academy’s first baseball state championship since 2010 when current head coach Tyler Parvin pitched for the Cougars.

Not to belabor the point, but the gist of this is I can tell two things with my short stay here in Lincoln County.

There’s a heavy emphasis put on high school sports here, which is great.

There’s extremely good and well-coached athletic programs around this area, which is great.

That’s why I’m excited over the next few months to get to know football coaches and see what the summer and fall has in store for each program.

I know the Panthers of Brookhaven are a perennial 5A power in the football landscape, and I’m excited to see how they perform under Tucker Peavey, who returns to Brookhaven after a stint at Southwest Mississippi Community College.

I’m excited to see how the 2A region plays out with Bogue Chitto, Loyd Star, Enterprise and West Lincoln and how the rivalries that are instilled in that district play into the outcomes there.

Lawrence County will be under the direction of a new coach, and the other set of Cougars at Brookhaven Academy will be returning off one of the more successful seasons in school history.

It’s a little early to talk about high school football and all the qualifiers that go along with it, but in the South football is a 24/7, 12-months-a-year conversation.

And if the way the programs around here play on the gridiron is the same manner that they played on the diamond, it’s going to be a great ride come August.

Sports editor Collin Brister can be reached at collin.brister@dailyleader.com or 601-265-5306.