If there's ever any doubt how most residents of the New River Valley spend their Friday evenings in the fall, a quick scan of the radio dial at 7 p.m. should provide some sort of indication.

Each week, five high school football broadcasts covering Pulaski County, Radford, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Giles bring the action to those who can't make it to the game.

Despite the long trips to road games and late nights required by the job, these radio teams still have a zest for the game that mirrors that of their listeners.

"Being in the pressbox, that nip in the air, those football smells, that's the exciting thing for me," said Rick Watson, announcer for Pulaski County. "There are so many people involved from the boosters, the band, the cheerleaders and the fans that travel in convoys to the games. They're so loyal, I mean thousands come out for these games."

Those who listen on the radio hear broadcasters who have a range of on-air experience and personal backgrounds. The owners of the voices at the microphones include career broadcasters, first-time announcers, college students, veteran sports observers, longtime locals and newcomers.

The vet, the newcomer

The story of Giles High announcers Harold Chafin and Jack Reid seems like a cliched Hollywood action movie pairing of the veteran police officer and his rookie partner. Chafin has lived in the New River Valley for nearly 70 years while Reid came to Blacksburg from Maryland to attend Virginia Tech four years ago.

As a longtime Spartans fan, Chafin knows the fervor of Southwest Virginia football. Reid went to a small Catholic school that didn't have a football team.

Reid was born two years after Chafin's last broadcasting gig, which was the 1980 group AA state championship game when the Spartans won the first of their state titles.

Chafin and Reid found common ground in the broadcast booth.

"I met Jack two hours before kickoff the first game against Blacksburg," said Chafin, Reid's color man. "I said 'Jack you ever done a football broadcast?' And he looked at me said this was his first. We just took it from there."

This could have been real trouble for a rookie who had to learn play-by-play delivery as well as the particulars of Giles' signature single wing offense. Reid managed with Chafin's help and a library book explaining the arcane offense.

"That first game he really carried me," Reid said. "It's like thinking out loud. Down, distance, time, situation; and with all the fakes, it's really tough."

Reid has not only managed to impress local fans, but his partner as well.

"I've been told we complement each other well," Chafin said. "He has really picked it up, and improved every game."

Reid is happy to be a part of the culture that he knew previously only from movies such as "Varsity Blues" and "Friday Night Lights."

"It's like the whole town coming out to a main event every Friday, that's new to me," he said. "Now I don't know what I would do on Friday nights without it."

The classmates

When Rick Watson, the radio voice of Radford University basketball, was given the chance to return to his high school alma mater Pulaski County to succeed venerable broadcaster Dan Callahan, Mark Love was the first person Watson called when he was looking for a color commentator.

"I'd worked with Mark before, covering both football and basketball. He's got a natural ability and he knows the game inside out," Watson said.

When Love accepted, that revived an on-air relationship that began 11 years ago when both were students at Radford University moonlighting as high school football announcers. Through the years they've covered a variety of area teams and developed an easygoing delivery.

"We've known each other so long, and we're so comfortable working together," said Love, whose background included a stint as an assistant coach football coach at Auburn High. "Half the time we're coming back from breaks I'm laughing. Basically we watch some high school football, talk about it and hang out together."

As for other perks of the job, Watson is partial to the rich history of local coaches that "truly care about the best interest of their kids;" Love enjoys visiting new stadiums such as the one at Franklin County that he calls "gorgeous and the size of a small college stadium."

Another perk: Food delivered to the press box by loyal listeners. The broadcasters love that.

"Last week we got a big old plate of brownies and that was nice," Love said.

Chasing the dream

For Richmond native and Virginia Tech student Aaron Marks, covering Christiansburg football is another step toward his dream of becoming a big time broadcaster.

"I've wanted to do this since I was like 5," said Marks, who balances broadcasting with a full load of classes and a full-time job at Base Communications. "Broadcasting is something that you've got to have in you."

Marks prefers high school football to other sports he has broadcast and believes "you have to submerge yourself into it. You've got to go to practices, talk to coaches during the week. Basically you've got to love what you do."

Marks' color commentator, Randy Thompson, has been a high school football radio announcer for seven years. He has seen Marks' hard work pay off.

"It shows that he talks to the coaches and does research, and that professionalism comes across on the air." Thompson said. "I think Aaron has the potential to be a play-by-play guy on the large stage. He's dedicated to being the best announcer he can be."

The new guys

Skip Morton has a ready answer when asked to describe a solid radio man.

"I think a good broadcaster is somebody who is personable, with a strong voice on the air," said Morton, the play-by-play man for Radford. "I've always liked Brent Musberger and John Madden. Chris Berman also knows his stuff and has fun with it."

Neither Morton nor his partner, Chip Craig, had ever covered a high school game before this season. Morton has worked in radio for 13 years.

Craig turns for inspiration for his broadcasts to his childhood memories of staying up late at night with a transistor radio listening to Dizzy Dean announce the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I remember hearing him on the radio," Craig said. "He would sing the 'Wabash Cannonball' and give you his recipe for rabbit stew. Maybe I'll start giving recipes, I make a pretty mean Cajun fried chicken gizzard."