Welcome game back to its natural habitat

Can you smell the hot dogs and the fresh-cut grass? Can you hear the crackling PA system, the smack of a pancake block and the tuba player in the back row? Can you see veins sticking out of the neck of the screaming line coach, the painted student body and the beaming grandparents in the middle section beneath the press box?

Welcome to another season of Friday Night Lights —- and I don’t mean a TV show on NBC. Despite the tease of football last week, this is the weekend fans have been waiting for since last December.

Last weekend’s Corky Kell Classic was a good warm-up for the high school football season, but the intimacy of high school sports is lost in the cavernous Dome. If you ask me —- and I am the one doing the writing here —- the beauty of high school sports is not in the recruiting or the letters of intent or even the all-state teams.

No, it’s in the unrecruited junior tight end making the key block on a 73-yard touchdown run. It’s in the cheerleader crying after a last-second defeat. It’s in the character of places like the Granite Bowl, the Shamrock Bowl, the Jungle and Bazemore-Hyder. They can play the state-title games and the opening weekend in the Dome, but give me the regular season and home-field advantage.

Taking over this spot from my esteemed colleague Darryl Maxie will be a challenge, but I have a thick skin and an even thicker head, and who else but THE guru of gridiron guessing is man enough to wade into the arena and tell it like it is? And give you a mix of Ric Flair, Teddy Roosevelt and Howard Cosell all in one sentence?

Here are the picks that will have you blogging your venom and sending hateful e-mails to cwhitfield@ajc.com.

Week 1 brings a slew of ranked vs. ranked games with most being played out of classification. The highlight of them all is the clash of private-school powers: Marist and St. Pius meet in what has usually been a region showdown, but the rivalry has lost importance with Pius’ move down to Class AAA. I say a “loss of importance” to the rest of the people in the state, but not to these two bitter rivals. Marist has won 25 of the last 26, and the crystal ball says Marist wins its fifth straight.

Quick picks

Facing Brookwood, Norcross and Mill Creek in your first five games in intra-Gwinnett rivalries is tough enough, but Class AAAAA runner-up North Gwinnett takes scheduling to a whole new level by taking on Byrnes, S.C., in the opener. The Bulldogs won’t have to worry about undefeated talk this year. … Harrison opened last season with an upset of Lownde, and despite having a new coach, I like the Hoyas on the road at Peachtree Ridge. … What more can you say about the job Darren Myles has done at Carver-Atlanta? Before Myles, the school won more than five games just once since 1980. Give the Panthers the edge over Mays and new coach Dominic Callaway. … Elsewhere, Charlton is down and Clinch’s stock is trading high … Cherokee over Sequoyah … and Griffin to handle Dunwoody.

—- Chris Whitfield

cwhitfield@ajc.com

 THE WEEKEND PREDICTIONS
TODAY
Winner..............Loser
Adairsville ........Woodland-Cart.
Alcovy..............Newton
Am.-Sumter..........Dougherty
Apalachee ..........Monroe Area
Appling Co. ........Wayne Co.
Armuchee............Trion
Athens Academy......SACA
Atkinson Co.........Berrien
Bainbridge..........Early Co.
Baldwin ............Glenn Hills
Beach ..............Savannah
Berkmar ............Upson-Lee
Bremen..............Alexander
Brooks Co...........Fellowship Christ.
Brookstone..........Landmark Christ.
Bryan Co. ..........Richmond Hill
Campbell............South Cobb
Carrollton..........Westminster
Cartersville........Cass
Carver-Atlanta......Mays
Carver-Columbus ....Spencer
Centennial..........Northview
Central-Talbotton ..Mt. Zion-Carroll
Chamblee............Douglass
Chattahoochee ......Milton
Chattahoochee Co. ..Calhoun Co.
Chattooga ..........Darlington
Cherokee............Sequoyah
Clarke Central......Loganville
Clinch Co...........Charlton Co.
Colquitt Co.........Randolph-Clay
Columbia............Lakeside-DeKalb
Cook................Pierce Co.
Coosa ..............Lakeview-Ft. Ogle.
Crawford Co.........Taylor Co.
Creekside ..........Tri-Cities
Dalton..............Calhoun
Decatur ............Druid Hills
Dodge Co. ..........S.E. Bulloch
Dooly Co. ..........Crisp Co.
Dublin..............Screven Co.
East Coweta ........Sandy Creek
Effingham Co. ......Burke Co.
Elbert Co...........Riverside Military
ECI ................Sav. Country Day
Evans ..............Greenbrier
Fannin Co...........Gilmer
Fayette Co. ........Stockbridge
Fitzgerald..........Irwin Co.
Flowery Branch......Stephens Co.
Forsyth Central ....McIntosh
Gainesville ........Chestatee
Georgia Military....Webster Co.
Glynn Academy ......Bradwell Inst.
Grady ..............Jackson-Atlanta
GAC ................Hart Co.
Griffin ............Dunwoody
Habersham Cent. ....Cedar Shoals
Hancock Central ....Putnam Co.
Haralson Co.........Hillgrove
Harrison............Peachtree Ridge
Hawkinsville........Jenkins Co.
Henry Co. ..........ELCA
Hephzibah ..........Butler
Holy Innocents' ....Riverwood
Houston Co. ........Groves
Jackson ............Therrell
Jackson Co. ........O.L. of Mercy
Jeff Davis..........Bacon Co.
Jefferson ..........Commerce
Jefferson Co. ......Laney
Johnson-Sav.........Long Co.
Johnson Co. ........Howard
Jones Co. ..........Mitchell Co.
Kennesaw Mtn. ......Pope
LaFayette ..........North Paulding
Lanier Co...........Brantley Co.
Lincoln Co. ........Greene Co.
Lithia Springs......Chapel Hill
Lithonia............Avondale
Lovejoy ............Mt. Zion-Jones.
Lovett..............Woodward Acad.
Lowndes ............Woodland-Stock.
Luella..............Meadowcreek
Lumpkin Co. ........Dawson Co.
M.L. King ..........S.W. DeKalb
Madison Co. ........Rockdale Co.
Manchester..........Greenville
Marion Co...........Pelham
Marist..............St. Pius
Mary Persons........Morgan Co.
McIntosh Co. Ac.....Liberty Co.
Mill Creek..........Dacula
Model ..............Gordon Central
Monroe..............Kendrick
Mundy's Mill........Forest Park
Newnan..............LaGrange
Norcross............South Gwinnett
Northeast-Macon ....Eagle's Landing
North Atlanta ......South Atlanta
North Forsyth ......West Forsyth
North Hall..........Johnson-Gaines.
North Oconee........Prince Ave.
Northgate ..........Dutchtown
Northside-Col.......Jordan
Northside-W.R.......Perry
N.W. Whitfield......S.E. Whitfield
Oconee Co...........Blessed Trinity
Oglethorpe Co.......Athens Christian
Pace Academy........Mt. Paran Christ.
Pacelli Catholic....Pike Co.
Parkview............Collins Hill
Peach Co. ..........Macon Co.
Pebblebrook ........Osborne
Pepperell ..........Paulding Co.
Portal..............Metter
Rabun Co. ..........Towns Co.
Ridgeland ..........Gordon Lee
Rockmart............Cedartown
Rome................East Paulding
Salem ..............Heritage-Conyers
Schley Co...........Terrell Co.
Shiloh..............Duluth
Social Circle ......Monticello
Sonoraville ........Heritage-Catoosa
South Effingham ....West Laurens
South Forsyth ......Alpharetta
South Paulding......Allatoona
Spalding............Lamar Co.
Sprayberry..........Lassiter
Statesboro..........Josey
Stone Mountain......Cedar Grove
Swainsboro..........Bleckley Co.
Tattnall Co.........Claxton
Telfair Co. ........Wheeler Co.
Temple..............Hebron Christian
Thomas Co. Cent.....Thomasville
Tift Co.............Roswell
Toombs Co...........East Laurens
Treutlen............Aquinas
Troup ..............Callaway
Tucker..............Brunswick
Twiggs Co...........Wilkinson Co.
Union Grove ........Ola
Valdosta............Jenkins
Villa Rica..........Central-Carroll
Ware Co.............Coffee
Warner Robins ......Wheeler
Warren Co...........Glascock Co.
Washington Co.......Cross Creek
Wash.-Wilkes........Banks Co.
Wesleyan............Clarkston
West Hall ..........East Jackson
Westlake............Banneker
Westover............Lee Co.
Westside-Aug. ......Richmond Acad.
Westside-Macon......Central-Macon
White Co. ..........Franklin Co.
Whitefield Acad.....Walker
Whitewater..........Douglas Co.
Wilcox Co...........Seminole Co.
Woodstock ..........Kell
Worth Co. ..........Turner Co.

Saturday
Hiram ..............Washington
Jonesboro ..........Morrow
Miller Co...........Albany
North Clayton ......Riverdale
North Springs ......Cross Keys
Redan ..............Miller Grove
Sav. Christian......Montgomery Co.
Stephenson..........McNair
* Games against out-of-state teams not included.
—- Compiled by Chip Saye