Fall camps are about to start for local high school football teams and that means another season of Friday Night Lights will soon be underway.
In anticipation of the season, there are many games that fans should have an extra eye on and maybe even circle twice on the calendar to make sure they do not miss.
No. 1 Ponte Vedra at Nease
It will not take long to get the big games going as the Panthers and Sharks continue their annual rivalry right out of the gate in the season opener for both teams on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
The game returns to its traditional positioning on the schedule after being played late in the season the past two years due to the squads being in the same district.
However, now they are in separate districts and even separate classes, with the Panthers in 6A and the Sharks in 5A, but this does not mean the stakes will be any lower, as bragging rights have and will always be on the line.
That is what being separated by less than seven miles between the two campuses will do, as both the players and coaching staffs have been together for the past several years and know each other all too well.
Not to mention the fact that it kicks off the season and sets the tone for the games to come.
No. 2 Beachside at Ponte Vedra
Beachside High enters its third year as a program and will be classified in a district for the first time after being an independent its first two years.
It means that their first game in District 3-5A will come on the road against Ponte Vedra High on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Although the Barracudas are still a relatively new program, they have been up to the test so far, finishing with winning records in their first two seasons, and there has always been a wonder of how they would do against the other established programs in St. Johns County.
That answer will get a little clearer after facing the Sharks, as they will look to leave a mark in the early season showdown, in what could develop as a new rivalry.
No. 3 Bartram Trail at Nease
The Bartram Trail Bears have set a standard of winning in the county for some time now and the Nease Panthers and head coach Collin Drafts continue to strive to create a standard of their own.
Coming off a district championship season and wanting to build upon that, they will surely have the contest against the Bears on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. highlighted on the calendar along with all the other district matchups.
However, although the Gainesville Buchholz game will be another highly contested battle and could play a roll in the district title at the end of the year, beating a county foe like the Bears would be a special one that the Panthers would not forget for some time.
It could also be a game looked back upon as one that helped set the tone for the rest of Drafts tenure as head coach of the Panthers.
