More Info
Here’s a guide to help understand our super hero-themed categories that appear on each team page:At the helm › Head coachHeroes assemble! › Returning startersSuper powers › Team strengthsPossible kryptonite › Team concernsSpidey sense tingling › ExpectationsHere I come to save the day! › Key playersUp, up and away! › Season outlook
One of my favorite childhood memories was sitting in front of the television, holding a big bowl of Froot Loops and watching the Saturday morning cartoon "Super Friends."
For half an hour each week, I didn't budge from the couch once I heard the first notes of the theme song blaring and the introduction: "Gathered together in this great Hall of Justice are the most powerful forces of good ever assembled."
Suddenly a kid who had trouble focusing in school was giving full attention to the adventures of Superman, Batman and all their super-powered friends fighting the forces of evil.
A couple of years later, Saturdays became dedicated to another television fixation - football - which remains a fall ritual to this day, and one met with just as much anticipation and excitement.
So as we discussed potential themes for this year's high school football preview section, the thought occurred: Why not combine the two? So what you are holding in your hand is the result of that idea, and the work of a team of talented folks here at the Times Free Press.
Hoping to both inform and entertain our readers, we have incorporated super hero themes throughout this year's publication, highlighting our area's Friday Night Heroes.
Besides providing information on more than 50 area teams, we've also included our annual list of the top 12 college prospects - the Dynamite Dozen - as well as dozens of other players who will be recruited by college scouts. You'll also find our staff's preseason top five rankings for large schools and small schools, and each team page will include a list of information designed to keep fans informed on what to look for from their favorite teams, as well as their rivals.
Starting with sweating on the sideline with players and coaches at tonight's humid season kickoff, our award-winning staff will continue to bring our readers the best coverage possible throughout the season and into the bone-chilling state championship games nearly four months from now.
So find a comfortable reading spot and enjoy this year's heroic prep football preview section. We hope it's as much fun for you to read as it was for us to put together.