There are still three weeks until the opening kickoff, but football season unofficially arrived in the Schuylkill League on Wednesday.

Players and coaches from across the league gathered at Schuylkill Haven’s Sports Performance Center for media day, sharing excitement and optimism as another season under the Friday night lights draws closer.

“It’s nice to get everyone together here under one roof and see some of the teams you’re going to be playing and the other coaches,” said Marian Catholic head coach Billy O’Guerek. “When you’re here, you know the season’s right around the corner.”

“We’ve all been in the weight room since December three days a week, and then you grind through the summer,” Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine said. “You just can’t wait to have it become official. It’s the best time of the year, and that’s why we all do it.”

The 2026 season also marks the beginning of a new divisional format. With the Schuylkill and Colonial leagues now operating separately, each league will feature two divisions based on school size.

The Schuylkill League’s Division 1 includes Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Panther Valley, Pine Grove, Pottsville and Tamaqua. Division 2 features Mahanoy Area, Marian Catholic, Minersville, Nativity, Schuylkill Haven, Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley.

The new alignment also creates more league matchups and strengthens traditional rivalries among neighboring schools.

“I think there’s a lot of positives and a lot of excitement around (the schedule change),” Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner said. “Friday night football is one of those things where it brings communities together, and it’s just nice to be able to go five miles down the road and play a team where the kids know each other.”

A new season also brings new opportunities as teams replace key contributors from last year’s squads.

Marian Catholic will be without star running back Rory Dixon, who decided to step away from football for his senior season to focus on wrestling. Although replacing a three-time 1,000-yard rusher won’t be easy, the Colts believe the change could allow their offense to become more balanced.

“We’re ready to move on with the future whether it’s Tyler (Price) at running back or a young player on our team who is ready to step up in the big moments,” junior quarterback Greg Tirpak said. “I think also our offense might expand more. When most teams start to figure out that Rory isn’t on our team anymore, we haven’t exposed our full passing game from last year, and I’m very excited about that. I’m ready because we have two great wide receivers in Rocco (Griguoli) and Tyler.”

Panther Valley faces a similar challenge after graduating quarterback Brody Breiner, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and threw for more than 1,000 more. While the Panthers may lean more heavily on their running game, Lavine is confident in both his returning offensive line and the leadership that has developed within the program.

“The linemen are all kids that have either started or played significantly last year, and they’ve been pushing themselves all year,” he said. “They all lift together, they all get on each other. The other thing we’re seeing is our junior class, some leaders really emerging from that class. When kids aren’t in the weight room, they’re calling them and making sure they’re getting there and providing rides for some of the younger guys. It’s really become a culture coming from them, not coming from the coaches, which is huge.”

Tamaqua, meanwhile, returns one of the area’s top offensive weapons in running back Terrence McDowell, who rushed for more than 1,700 yards as a sophomore. This season, the Raiders hope to ease some of that workload with new quarterback Ace Schickram and additional options in the backfield.

Among all the changes and preparations, Schickram echoed the excitement shared throughout media day. Having grown up watching his older brother Lucas play for the Raiders, including Tamaqua’s 2019 state semifinal team, the junior quarterback is eager for his own opportunity to carry on the program’s tradition.

“Growing up watching my brother play all the time, he was the starting guard and D-tackle the year they went to states (2019),” Schickram said. “Just smash-mouth football, running it down your throat — that’s how the Schuylkill League’s played. It’s always good football every Friday night. I’m blessed to be able to come out and play.”