The topic of conversation entering last year's high school football season centered around change. And there was plenty of it, most notably the PIAA's expansion from four classes to six for football.

The result was seven (Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Marian, Northern Lehigh, Palmerton, Pleasant Valley and Tamaqua) of the nine Times News area football teams qualifying for the District 11 playoffs. In 2015, just three area programs were in the district playoffs in 2015.Marian (Class 1A) and Palmerton (Class 2A) both played for district titles under the new format. Both also did so after finishing the regular season 5-5.But that doesn't mean the new format comes with a ticket to the playoffs. Far from it."Playing for a district title was nice, but by no means are you guaranteed of getting into the playoffs in our classification; so we must compete week in and week out to put ourselves in a good position at the end of the year," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak.That process begins Monday, as all nine area teams officially begin practice."We prepare for each year in the same manner no matter what the classifications are so it does not change our approach or message to the team," said Walkowiak. "Our message is consistent in making sure the players understand there is a process of doing things that we must work on every time we are together in the offseason and the regular season if we want to be playing in the postseason."In addition to the PIAA's expansion to six classes for football, teams also had to adjust to having just one preseason scrimmage instead of two.It's a change that affected each team differently. But it was one all had to adapt to."I really don't mind the current set-up," said Walkowiak, "except when you have a younger team, then I miss the second scrimmage due to trying to get inexperienced players more reps in a scrimmage rather than have them still learning the ropes in a Week 0 game."So what's new this year?On the sideline, Marian and Panther Valley will have new head coaches. Pat Morgans will lead the Colts, while Scott Price takes the reigns of the Panthers.As for what's different on the field? Plenty.Gone is Pleasant Valley's Mike Mitchell, the Times News Football Player of the Year. Mitchell led the area with 1,447 yards rushing while also scoring an area-best 25 touchdowns.Also lost to graduation is Northwestern's Trevor Cunningham, who paced the field with 55 catches for 1,123 yards receiving. Cunningham was second in the area with 21 total touchdowns.Palmerton quarterback Garrett Perschy departs after a stellar senior season, throwing for 2,152 yards and 19 touchdowns.Perschy's teammate, Mike Stasko (20 touchdowns) and Pleasant Valley's Justin Richardson (16), have also moved on.So who's back? Glad you asked.Pleasant Valley quarterback Brandon Keyes returns after a record-setting junior season that included 2,365 yards passing and a staggering 33 touchdowns, as the Bears averaged 44.5 points-per-game.Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Keyes threw just five interceptions.Nick Breiner (16 total touchdowns, 845 yards rushing) and Thad Zuber (1,348 yards passing, 11 touchdowns) return for Tamaqua. Nate Boyle should also play a big role in the Blue Raiders' offense after rushing for 578 yards (7.05 yards-per-carry) and five scores a year ago.Deven Bollinger had no trouble finding Cunningham during his freshman season. Bollinger threw for 1,890 yards and 20 touchdowns as the Tigers reached the Eastern Conference championship game.Jim Thorpe's Justin St. Hill flashed speed and elusiveness last fall, rushing for 1,104 yards - second-best in the area - and scoring 15 touchdowns.Another talented running back, Marian's Seth Paluck ran for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. Paluck's return should give the Colts' offense stability with the loss of four-year starting quarterback Ethan Kuczynski (1,226 yards passing, 12 touchdowns in 2016).In his first season as Lehighton's starting quarterback, Cody Scherer threw for 1,334 yards and 12 touchdowns with just four interceptions before an injury cut his season short. Though he will be without last year's top receiving threat in Gavin Zehner (44 catches, 638 yards, four touchdowns) and rusher in Mike Mayernik (214 carries, 1,046 yards, nine TDs), look for Scherer to be ready to build on that success as a senior.Northern Lehigh senior Mason Seiler looks primed for a breakout senior campaign after rushing for 542 yards and five touchdowns as a junior.While Panther Valley didn't make the postseason, the Panthers do return several players who saw significant playing time a year ago, including starting quarterback Hunter Kennedy, who threw for 1,205 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.But what do those numbers tell us? Not much.We'll find out where everyone stands when the season kicks off Aug. 25.Don't let the calendar fool you - football is back.