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Editorial: Friday night lights shine bright
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Published: August 22, 2008
Perhaps in storybooks or elsewhere, the start of football season conjures fall in the air. In North Carolina, the beginning of high school football comes on warm, even hot, humid nights in August, before school has even started. It brings new meaning to the word "hotbed."
That doesn't seem to do much to keep people from being very interested in the sport. Action begins tonight, the opening of 12 Fridays of regular-season football, followed by the playoffs.
Included on the opening schedule are Northwest Cabarrus at Jay M. Robinson, A.L. Brown at Central Cabarrus and Mount Pleasant at Hickory Ridge.
Concord starts the season next Friday.
Under the current format, local teams match up early on, then split off for league play in four difference conferences.
That is slated to change in August 2009, the start of a new four-year realignment period.
The plan is for A.L. Brown, Central Cabarrus, Concord, new school Cox Mill, Hickory Ridge, Mount Pleasant, Northwest Cabarrus and Jay M. Robinson to form one Class 3A league.
But that's next year.
Local fans are accustomed to seeing excellence as well as excitement. Talented individuals have gone from high school to college and even professional football success. Deep advances into the playoffs, especially with the expansion of qualifiers from four classes into eight, have become commonplace.
Mount Pleasant went to the 2AA semifinals last season, Concord won the 3A title in 2004 and 2006, Northwest Cabarrus was a 3AA semifinalist in 2006 and A.L. Brown made the 3AA semifinals in 2005.
The tradition goes back a lot longer than that, however.
One example: A.L. Brown has posted winning seasons in football for the last 30 years and won state championships in 1989 and 1997, not to mention a state runner-up finish in 1991.
The biggest tradition of all is the Battle For The Bell, pitting Concord against Kannapolis (for the uninitiated, it's A.L. Brown High School, but Kannapolis Wonders football). It's the longest continuous high school rivalry in the state.
Last year, the Bell Game returned to its rightful spot, as the final regular-season game, and drew a huge crowd to Kannapolis Memorial Stadium.
The series stands at 38 wins for Concord, 35 for Kannapolis and four ties.
Starting tonight, students, parents and other fans will gather at their school's game to rekindle a heartfelt ritual.
Football games are more than athletic events. They are also band shows, revenue-producers and social happenings.
Even those who might wish the season to be a week shorter do not waver in their love of the game and so much that is attached to it.
• Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of this newspaper. Respond
with a Letter to the Editor by e-mailing news@independenttribune.com
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