High school football season officially kicks off today with four games scattered around the Chattanooga area, and each involves at least one team with soaring expectations for the fall.
A doubleheader at Finley Stadium begins with Central taking on Walker Valley at 6 p.m., followed by Baylor versus Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Meigs County, which spent much of last season ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, opens at home against Sweetwater at 7:30. In Georgia, 2017 Class AAA state champion and perennial powerhouse Calhoun faces off against Ridgeland at 5:30 at Rome's Barron Stadium as part of the Corky Kell Classic lineup, which features games around the Peach State today, Friday and Saturday.
"They've played good football here for a long time, but to get our program back to where we want to be, we wanted to step up and play the best and see where we stand," said Ridgeland coach Cortney Braswell, who along with Central's Curt Jones will be making his debut as head coach at a new program.
Calhoun is coming off its third state title under Hal Lamb and is again a state favorite with the return of 14 starters.
"The old saying is, 'To be the man, you've got to beat the man,' and we're excited to have this opportunity to evaluate our program. We'll find out where we are in every aspect and see firsthand how a state champion handles their business," Braswell added. "The expectations are different than when I started at Central. They don't just want to see you play well, they want to see you win, so there's a different feel to the start of this season."
In 2016, Braswell inherited a Central program that was winless the season before and turned it around to a 7-5 finish last year. In the offseason, the Rossville native took over the Panthers, who began last year 11-0 before losing in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs.
Because of the work Braswell did getting the Purple Pounders back on their feet, plus the return of 15 starters and Jones' experience helping Notre Dame reach the Division II-AA state title game last year as its defensive coordinator, there is also a good amount of buzz at Central heading into tonight.
"I cannot wait to get on the field and get the season kicked off," Jones said. "We've heard about the hype around the program, and that's just added to the excitement level for the kids and all of us."
Notre Dame also brings back the majority of its starters, including 2017 state Mr. Football finalist Cam Wynn, from last year's team that won 11 straight games after losing its opener to Baylor and eventually played for a state title for the first time in program history.
Meigs County brings back its own Mr. Football finalist - quarterback/safety Aaron Swafford, who totaled more than 2,800 yards a year ago - as well as all 11 starters from the team that began last season with 12 straight wins before a heartbreaking one-point loss in the state quarterfinals.
There will be a full slate of 29 games Friday as nearly every area team in Tennessee and Georgia opens its season this weekend.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.