Exactly four months from today, state championship weekend begins in Hershey for Pennsylvania's very best high school football teams.
On Monday, in sapping 90-degree heat, practice began for a season that everyone hopes will end in Chocolatetown the week before Christmas.
The nice thing about opening day is that everyone is back on equal footing. Slates have been cleaned. What happened last year means nothing and all can share the same dream of becoming a champion.
The feeling of equality may be fleeting, of course. The separation generally occurs during that first scrimmage.
But I toured eight schools Monday and found as much enthusiasm at a place like Notre Dame, where the Crusaders are coming off an 0-10 season, as I did at Liberty, where memories of last December's amazing overtime victory over Bethel Park for state glory remain fresh.
Even though teams have been conducting various drills and competitions all spring and summer long, the official start of practice brings a sense of urgency. It means putting on the shoulder pads and helmets, and, most importantly, hitting.
So there's an extra sense of excitement to go with the humidity in the air.
''The summers get long now with the commitment you have to make, and the speed training, lifting and everything you do does get monotonous,'' said Liberty coach Tim Moncman. ''So, the start of practice is still exciting.''
The motto at Liberty is ''Every Damn Day,'' which means the Hurricanes are expected to give the same effort whether it's the first few steamy practice days of August or if they're preparing for a showdown with Easton, Parkland or Freedom in the biting cold of November.
''The kids must punch in and punch out and if you're not ready to go, it's time to get off the field,'' Moncman said. ''It's one day, one game at time. That's our approach. Sure, we talk about having the bull's-eye on our back. But what would you rather have? Would you rather be picked fourth in the conference? I don't think so.''
Make no mistake, Liberty has vast expectations. Besides being defending state champ and state finalist three of the last four years, the Hurricanes have two of the area's -- and the state's -- premier players in quarterback Anthony Gonzalez and receiver Jarrod West, who has verbally committed to Stanford.
Gonzalez will be making visits to Florida State, Oregon and Pittsburgh during the season, but Moncman isn't worried about his college choice becoming a distraction.
''He's such an even-keeled kid that it's not going to bother him, and it won't bother our team,'' Moncman said. ''We have 26 seniors and a lot of kids who have been through this. The kids look forward to the challenge again. They want to be at this level and want to see where they can go next.''
High expectations were not a problem at most other spots on my mini-tour.
Notre Dame and Salisbury are not thinking about state-title wins, they're thinking about getting a win -- period.
The Crusaders have an enthusiastic new coach in Chuck Muller, a coaching veteran who has worked for more than 20 years at places such as Souderton, Palisades, Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty.
''I was very happy with the attitude for the first practice,'' he said. ''We've got 44 kids and they're enthusiastic. They've taken it on the chin the last few years, so we're working on the mental part. They're not out there to be victims. We just want to prepare them and let them go out and compete for 48 minutes. That's the big thing.''
Salisbury's second-year coach, Rob Sawicki, has the same kind of approach.
''We've got 48 kids here, which is the best number we've had in my six years here going back to being an assistant,'' Sawicki said. ''It's a challenge, but it's a very rewarding challenge. These kids have made a commitment going back to last November. We made some great strides. They're taking everything and going with it.''
Besides having an upbeat leader in Sawicki, the Salisbury kids are blessed with having three Lehigh Valley coaching icons on the staff in Fritz Halfacre, Gene Legath and Chuck Sonon.
There's roughly 120 years of coaching experience among the three of them. Coincidentally, all three are former Emmaus coaches.
And all three have probably forgotten more about the game than any new coach will ever know.
The 82-year Halfacre has been battling cancer in recent years, but is never more at home than on a football practice field.
''I love the teaching part of the game,'' Halfacre said. ''Being here gives me something to do, keeps my mind occupied.''
The Falcons will likely grow to love Halfacre as hundreds of other area football players have over the past five decades.
''You'd be surprised to learn he's 82 with the way he acts,'' Sawicki said. ''He's got the energy of a 20-year-old. Look at him the way he coaches up the younger kids. He doesn't just tell them things. He shows them things. He wants to make sure they understand. He's a hands-on guy. He's just awesome.''
On this page I will have all information on sports events from Nazareth High School and all other sports events in the country. I will also have news about myself and other people.
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