Creswell, Sports Zone

Apo is ‘king’ of prep football scorekeepers

Kai Apo discusses his passion for sports in a visit to The Chronicle’s newsroom. The CHS senior has covered football for the paper on its website, chronicle1909.com, this season. CHRONICLE STAFF PHOTO

CRESWELL – A lifelong sports fan and entering his senior year as a high school athlete, Kai Apo had no expectations for the 2019 football season other than supporting his teammates from the sidelines.
He had no idea.
Following an injury in his sophomore year, the Creswell High School senior has skipped playing football the past two seasons, choosing instead to focus on basketball. And he admits, painfully, that he avoids skateboards these days, too.
The Chronicle approached Apo in August to gauge his interest in being the newspaper’s official scorekeeper for the Bulldogs this season, after the paper’s leaders received recommendations from teachers, coaches and school administrators. He exceeded all of our expectations.
Apo took on the challenge of keeping the football team’s stats in real time, play-by-play, with a scorekeeping application on his phone, Scorebook Live. This allowed fans to follow the Bulldogs’ football games in real time on any device from anywhere in the world.
”Scorebook Live is on the cutting edge for high schools,” Apo said. ”I’m personally excited to be a part of it.”
So, Apo was on the sidelines, supporting his friends and teammates just as he wanted – only in a way he couldn’t have imagined. He was covering his classmates’ performances, play-by-play, for the entire world in real time. ”That’s pretty cool,” Apo said, noting he has been an ESPN viewer since he was ”2 or 3” years old. ”I’ve always been drawn to sports,” he added.
Everyone associated with the initiative learned plenty from our ”beta” season, including the fact we need back-up help now and then. Apo already had committed to a basketball camp and leadership conference before the season started, forcing him to miss two games, which he let us know right away. Oh, and then there was homecoming, where he ”had to leave a little before halftime and return a little into the third quarter” because he was ”part of the homecoming court at halftime.”
Turned out, he was elected homecoming king.
Heading into his senior year, the 6-foot-3 point guard is eager to lead a team of experienced teammates and friends.
”Our team has seven seniors who have been playing together our whole lives. We have great camaraderie,” he said.
Fans can see coverage of the 2019 Bulldogs football season at scorebooklive.com online, or by downloading the app on iPhone and iPad products.

(Editor’s note: Noel Nash is co-owner of The Chronicle and co-founder of Scorebook Live.)

Instagram

 

View this profile on Instagram

 

The Chronicle (@thechronicle1909) • Instagram photos and videos