By MICHAEL FLOYD The Point of View
There are football states, and then there's Alabama.
No state embraces Friday nights quite like this one. The bands are louder. The rivalries run deeper. Entire towns shut down hours before kickoff. And after months of anticipation, the wait is finally over.
Week 0 is here.
It's only the opening weekend, but don't mistake it for a warmup. Across Alabama, contenders will be tested immediately, rivalries will be renewed and the race to Hancock Whitney Stadium, in Mobile begins with games that already carry playoff intensity.
One of the worthy spotlights falls on Auburn, where the Tigers welcome Hewitt-Trussville in a matchup worthy of October instead of August. Auburn has built one of Class 6A's rising programs, but there's no easing into the season when the Huskies come to town. Hewitt-Trussville brings speed, size and expectations of its own. Somebody's leaving Duck Samford Stadium with an early statement.
Then there's the biggest heavyweight fight everyone will be watching.
The Central-Phenix City Red Devils. The Thompson Warriors.
The names speak for themselves.
State championships. National rankings. Future SEC players. Every snap feels bigger when these two line up across from each other. There won't be a trophy handed out Thursday night, but don't tell the players that. For two programs accustomed to playing on the biggest stages, this is another chance to remind everyone why they remain the standard.
Not every game needs statewide rankings to matter.
Hillcrest-Evergreen and Greenville have been settling scores for generations. Records disappear when these rivals meet. History takes over. The stands will be packed long before kickoff, and by the fourth quarter, someone will have earned bragging rights that last a full year.
Andalusia vs Wetumpka might be one of the weekend's most intriguing matchups. Both programs expect to be playing meaningful football long after the leaves begin to change. Week 0 won't decide a championship, but it can reveal just how close each team is to reaching one.
In East Alabama, Lanett heads to Loachapoka in a game that has all the ingredients of an early-season classic. Lanett's championship pedigree travels with it every Friday night, while Loachapoka gets the chance to defend its home turf against one of the state's most respected small-school programs.
Don't overlook W.S. Neal vs Bullock County, either. Every season, games like this produce the stories no one saw coming, from the breakout player, the last-second finish or the upset that changes the trajectory of a season before Labor Day.
That's what makes opening night different.
Nobody knows exactly what's coming.
The preseason magazines don't matter anymore. Summer workouts are over. Predictions disappear the moment the ball is kicked into the night.
For the next three months, Alabama will once again become the center of the high school football world every Friday evening. Under the lights, in front of packed bleachers and generations of loyal fans, new stars will emerge, old rivalries will burn hotter and championship dreams will begin to take shape.
It starts now.
Week 0 isn't the beginning of the schedule.
It's the beginning of the chase.
Michael Floyd is an award-winning journalist with The Tuskegee News and is the host of The Point of View with Michael Floyd on the Legacy Sports Network.