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As football season draws near, MVNow is excited to welcome a new voice to our coverage of Mount Vernon Tigers athletics.
Phillip Higginbotham, the new pastor of Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, will be joining the MVNow Citizen Journalist team this fall to provide comprehensive coverage of Tigers football, bringing more than a decade of experience covering Texas high school football to our readers.
For Higginbotham, sportswriting and ministry have traveled hand in hand throughout much of his career. Before arriving in Mount Vernon, he served churches in communities across Texas while simultaneously covering local high school football for hometown newspapers.
His journey into sports journalism began roughly 10 years ago, when a newspaper in Maybank needed someone to cover football games. Although he had little experience at the time, his lifelong love for the game led him to accept the opportunity. What started as a simple assignment soon developed into years of sports reporting, eventually leading him to cover the La Vernia Bears for seven seasons and the Palacios Sharks for four more.
Along the way, his experience expanded beyond newspaper coverage into radio broadcasting, live video productions during the COVID season, and even serving as a color commentator for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the Indoor Football League.
Now, after requesting a transfer back to North Texas to be closer to family, Higginbotham and his family have been welcomed to Mount Vernon, where he is eager to become part of both the church and the community.
"I’m just hoping to have a good time and enjoy high school football and enjoy our community," Higginbotham said. "Each season is a new chapter for a high school, for a program, and for a community. This will just be an opportunity to tell the next story."
That storytelling approach is exactly what readers can expect this season.
Rather than simply publishing final scores and statistics, Higginbotham believes every game has a story worth telling. His goal is to help readers relive Friday night's biggest moments, whether they were in the stands or couldn't make the game.
"I try to get as many of our students' names into the article as I can when they make a big play," he said. "These are high school kids doing their best, and we want our community to know we're proud of the students representing Mount Vernon."
Even on difficult nights, his focus remains positive.
"We try to find the positives," he explained. "Whether it's a big win or a tough loss, there's always something worth highlighting."
That philosophy aligns closely with MVNow's mission of celebrating the people and stories that strengthen our community.
Texas high school football, Higginbotham believes, offers something unique that few other events can replicate.
"It seems to be the community event throughout the fall," he said. "It's one of the few places where the entire community gathers together on a regular basis. High school football in Texas brings small towns together in a way that almost nothing else does."
Beginning this fall, readers can expect much more than traditional game recaps.
Each week, MVNow plans to provide detailed game stories, individual player highlights, team statistics, season trends, district standings, playoff scenarios, and key metrics that help tell the complete story of the Tigers' season. Whether Mount Vernon is chasing a district championship or overcoming adversity through a challenging schedule, our goal is to provide coverage that keeps fans informed while recognizing the student-athletes who represent our community with pride.
We're thrilled to have Phillip joining the MVNow Citizen Journalist team and look forward to bringing readers more in-depth sports coverage than ever before.
Friday nights are about more than football—they're about community. We can't wait to tell those stories together this fall.
