For 40 years, Randy Shaver served as one of the premier media advocates for Minnesota high school football through his Prep Show on what’s now known as local NBC television affiliate KARE 11. When Shaver retired in June, so, too, ended his run with that program.

But his coverage of the state’s prep football scene remains because he cannot walk away from one of his great passions.

Shaver is a month into “Shaver’s Prep Football Podcast” — TalkNorth’s first video podcast. The weekly program features guests ranging from coaches to current players to famous Minnesota football figures, all of whom discuss their current situations as well as their past high school football experiences.

But Shaver didn’t want the show to simply be two people sitting and talking for 30 minutes. “To me, that’s boring,” he said. So, Shaver has approached the podcast in a way similar to way he produced his prep football TV show, putting in plenty of man hours to collect insight and content.

There was a day last week in which Shaver went out to six practices, visiting Rocori, Annandale, Dassel-Cokato, Providence Academy, Wayzata and Buffalo.

From each practice he’s nabbing photos and video interviews on his phone, all of which he weaves into his roughly 40-minute weekly shows.

On top of all that, Shaver is staying connected with coaches across the state, gaining intel to educate viewers. Recently, he conducted a poll of coaches to determine the preseason title favorites and best players, the results of which he presented at the end of an episode.

Shaver said the podcast appears to be “gaining momentum.” The proof for which extends beyond anecdotal cases of coaches expressing their admiration. Each of his past two shows have garnered more than 2,600 views on YouTube. It also airs on KARE’s streaming channel every Wednesday at 8 p.m.

“I hope that the same energy that I had in covering high school football on TV will come across on the podcast,” Shaver said.

As well as his new weekly, on-site preview show.

Shaver will host “Game Night Live” — a show streaming for free on GameTime Media — weekly from the location of a select game. That starts Thursday, when he’ll be at White Bear Lake Area High School’s brand new field from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ahead of the Bears’ bout with Minnetonka.

“It’s a new thing for them, it’s brand new,” Shaver said. “Who knows how it’s going to go? I don’t know.”

But Shaver noted Logan Anderson, the company’s president and owner, is “enthusiastic and hard-working,” and Shaver is excited about the endeavor. He told Anderson “if it sounds like work, I’m not gonna do it. If it sounds like fun, then I’ll do it.”

“So far, he’s made it sound like fun,” Shaver added. “That’s all that I care about. I’m not in the business of doing something now that I don’t want to do.”

But he still wants to “do” prep football. He always has.

It’s why when KARE approached Shaver to make the move from sports to news anchor 12 years ago, he agreed under the stipulation that he still got to do his prep football show. He simply couldn’t walk away from it.

“Because it was my show. From 1984 until I walked away, that was my baby,” Shaver said. “To be honest with you, for the 12 years that I did news, thank God that I had the prep show to do, because it gave me that outlet that I needed. It was just light. The day’s news gets to be so much.”

That’s not to say it wasn’t work; quite the opposite is true. As soon as his Friday night on-air duties were complete, Shaver would dive into the double-digit number of games photogs shot that night and watch every play, scouting players ranging from the quarterback to the left guard for highlights and clips to log for potential shows down the road — and tab possible All-Metro candidates.

He often left the studio at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

“Was it was a lot of work, a lot of hours? Did I put too much time into it? All of the above. I put too much more time into it,” Shaver said. “But I absolutely loved it, and I created a relationship with all these coaches that I care a lot about.”

While Shaver admitted he’s looking forward to attending a game, then going home and being in bed by 11 p.m. on Fridays moving forward, he loved the adrenaline rush that came from those broadcasts.

He was in charge of logging the scores for the Prep Football shows, so he did that while videographers and producers dealt with compiling the highlights. Oftentimes, when Shaver would sit down to anchor the show, he’d do so flying relatively blind, armed with nothing but chicken scratch notes from the photographers who shot the plays.

“Just give me the particulars, and then I’m going to watch the play the way you’re watching it, and I’m going to react the way you might react,” Shaver said. “So, it’s like living on the edge, and I loved it.”

Shaver anticipates those muscles will again be flexed on his game night preview show with GameTime, especially in the first few weeks. But as he has proven, he’s more than capable of figuring it out. Because, if nothing else, his passion for the sport is sure to shine through.

“I have really no idea how it’s going to turn out. It’s kind of scary, a little bit,” Shaver said. “It’ll be kind of like the prep show: fly by the seat of your pants, have some fun, have some knowledge in front of you, have a good time and soak in the atmosphere.”

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