It's Labor day weekend so you know what that means.

High School Football makes it's debut in the Keystone State and The Times News area and the talk has been running wild the past couple of weeks. Who's the best team in the area? How will Lehighton and Pleasant Valley do in their new leagues?…etc, etc., etc.It's also that time to gt out the Ol' Crystal Ball for one more try. What's different this year, is we're all going to try an unseed Bob Ford as the defending champion.So let's get right to it:EASTON AT PLEASANT VALLEY - Bears won't have an easy time as they get the Red Rovers right off the bat in their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener. New lead coach, new league, the first three weeks will be tough…EASTON, 31-14.JIM THORPE AT MINERSVILLE - Olympians had quit the season last year. They'll have to replace TN Football Player of the Year Ryan Saunders and get a young Minersville squad to get on track…JIM THORPE, 28-0.LEHIGHTON AT MAHANOY AREA - Welcome to "Coal Region Football" Indians. If there are any jitters, they'll shake them early. Bears were in Eastern Conference Championship last year so can't take them lightly…LEHIGHTON, 21-7.NOTRE DAME AT NORTHWESTERN - Crusaders habe picked up a few transfers and Tigers are the pre-season favorite so this should be a dandy…NORTHWESTERN, 21-18.SCHUYLKILL HAVEN AT PANTHER VALLEY - Anthracite opener for new head coach Matt Davis and a young, small Panther team that will only get btter as time goes on…SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, 26-7.TAMAQUA AT NORTH SCHUYLKILL - Spartans are picked as the team to win it all in the AFL, but I expect the Raiders to give them a battle…NORTH SCHUYLKILL, 14-12.WILLIAMS VALLEY AT MARIAN - Another good opener with two teams that should be heard from in the post-season…MARIAN, 14-13.PALMERTON AT WILSON - Bombers hope that this is the year they can make some noise with good players at the skill positions. The Warriors have a new mentor in Sam Senneca who was quite the player at Central Catholic and Penn State in his day…PALMERTON, 28-12.NORTHERN LEHIGH AT PEN ARGYL - Actually flipped the coin here and it could come down to who stops the other last…PEN ARGYL, 21-20.BANGOR AT CATASAUQUA - Roughies lost a lot of talent as well as their coach. Slaters are picked to b a little tougher…BANGOR, 36-7.BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC AT LIBERTY - A real good backyard battle right off the bat. Going to gamble a little bit here and go with the Hurricanes…LIBERTY, 24-21.STROUDSBURG AT NAZARETH - Tom Falzone moves over from Catty to coach the Blue Eagles. Mounties will be tough down the road…NAZARETH, 21-20.SALISBURY AT SAUCON VALLEY - Falcons could be one of the tough luck teams in the Colonia League this year. Panthers are just trying to avoid a teacher's strike that could screw up the season…SAUCON VALLEY , 35-0.BLUE MOUNTAIN AT SHENANDOAH VALLEY - Eagles head to "Pierogie City" for their welcome back to the Anthracite Football League…BLUE MOUNTAIN, 31-7.SOUTHERN LEHIGH AT PALISADES - Two teams that should be right near the top, if not the top in the Colonial League when the regular season is done. Pirates will run, Spartans will pass…SOUTHERN LEHIGH, 21-0.