KCST and Siuslaw High School sports go together like a wink and a smile, like cake and ice cream, through good times and bad.

It's been that way for more than a decade.

"We have a real strong tie to the community," says news director Bob Sneddon, who has been doing color for football since 2005 and play-by-play for basketball since 2003.

"This is a big part of what we do. We cover more high school sports than any other station in the state."

KCST (106.9FM and 1250AM) will kick off its 11th season covering Siuslaw High School football Friday in Newport, but it will be a rare night off for Sneddon.

"My daughter's wedding is the next day," he says.

Sneddon's sidekick for Vikings football this season, play-by-play man Lance Haberly, will be joined this Friday night by Randy Paredes, who normally pairs with Sneddon for basketball.

"We do all the football games, home and away," says Sneddon. "We do every league basketball game, boys and girls, and most nonleague games.

"We do 20 baseball games, but Wayne Sharpe does the baseball."

It's an effort that's well-received in the Florence community.

"People comment to us all the time how much they appreciate (the coverage), and that really makes it worthwhile," says Sneddon.

"They love it, the parents and the grandparents, the neighbors and the friends. And the way I put it is, 'We go, so you don't have to.'"

He may miss out on Newport this weekend, but there's still the hour-plus drive to North Bend and separate three-hour-plus trips to Brookings and Hidden Valley (Grants Pass).

"I'm REALLY looking forward to those trips," he says with wry smile. "At least we're not going to South Umpqua (in Myrtle Creek)."

Broadcasts have improved as the technology has improved, including better cellular reception up and down the coast. The station does not stream the games live on the internet.

"We make the games for download or listening online, usually by Monday," says Sneddon. "We have a lot of people who do that."

Airing games on the coast has been a challenge over the years.

"When we first started, cell services in some areas was nonexistent," says Sneddon. "And there have been times when we've had to run 300-feet of wire to get a phone line."

And there have been the inevitable unforeseen hurdles, such as an early-season nonleague game at Molalla in 2009. An accident on the freeway backed up traffic for 20 miles, and Sneddon and Haberly arrived late.

"We did the pregame from my car," he says. "I pulled into the parking lot, and they were lined up to kick off and actually doing the national anthem.

"Lance called the kickoff and the first series on his cell phone, backing up the steps of the stadium. We got in, set up, (and) I set the headphones on his head. I called the station on another phone, went to a 10-second station ID, switched a button, and boom, went right into it."

The station, run by owner-general manager John Thompson, does more than broadcast from the sidelines. There is the athlete-of-the-week feature during the school year, and a station-sponsored banquet in conjunction with the Siuslaw Athletic Booster Club at the end of the school year.

"We usually wind up with 20 to 22 sponsors who support the athlete of the week," says Sneddon. "And we run an ad in the Siuslaw News. The banquet, it's one of my favorite things to do all year."