THATCHER — Gila Valley football fans will get plenty of opportunities to hear their favorite teams on the radio this year, including the renewal of a rivalry that’s been dormant for nearly 90 years — Pima vs. Safford.
KATO AM 1230 announced this year’s broadcast schedule for prep football, including:
Aug. 20 — Fort Thomas at Duncan
Aug. 27 — Sahuarita at Thatcher
Sept. 3 — Pima at Safford
Sept. 10 — Thatcher at Pima
Sept. 17 — Sabino at Thatcher
Sept. 24 — Douglas at Thatcher
Oct. 1 — Valley Christian at Safford
Oct. 8 — Willcox at Pima
Oct. 15 — Pusch Ridge at Safford
Oct. 22 — Safford at Sabino
Oct. 29 — Safford at Thatcher
“I’m excited for the local athletes to be able to get back to a more normal situation on the field,” said KATO play-by-play announcer Lee Patterson. “This year’s broadcast schedule features at least one game for every Gila Valley team; that is something I try really hard to accomplish when making the schedule.”
2021 marks Patterson’s 22nd year calling local high school game games on KATO.
In addition being heard on KATO AM 1230, the games can be streamed at GilaValleyCentral.net, and Safford uses the KATO feed for commentary on the school’s live stream of games on YouTube.
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