By David Knox, Sports Editor
The high school football season gets underway for real a week from Friday.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t get a sneak peek at our local heroes – and some of the younger ones who’ll hopefully be making big plays, and mamas and daddies proud, a few hundred Friday nights down the road.

Former Hewitt-Trussville standout John Youngblood talks to the Huskies after a practice last week. Youngblood, who now plays for Ole Miss, was named the 27th recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award and will wear Mullins’ No. 38 jersey in 2016. Youngblood graduated from Ole Miss in December of 2015. Photo courtesy Hewitt-Trussville athletics.
Hewitt-Trussville, Clay-Chalkville and Pinson Valley will be trotting out the varsities for intra-squad scrimmages, and the middle-schoolers and youth league kids will get a chance to play on the big stage too in events set for Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon.
First up is “Husky Night” on Friday. Activities begin at 6 p.m. at Husky Field at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium. The middle school, freshmen and the varsity will all scrimmage, with the varsity taking the field around 8 p.m. Admission is free.
Both Pinson Valley and Clay-Chalkville hold their days on Saturday.
“Meet The Indians” kicks off at 9 a.m. at Willie Adams Stadium. It’s a total community affair with the Pinson Youth Sports football teams starting at 9 a.m. The varsity will take the field at approximately 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5.
The Clay-Chalkville Football Kickoff Classic activities start at 8:30 a.m. Clay Youth Football teams will be taking on teams from McAdory and cheerleaders will be there too. The 95-pound, 115-pound and 135-pound teams play at approximately 9, 10:15 and 11:35. At 1 p.m. The CCMS seventh-graders will scrimmage and the eighth-graders take the field at 2. The freshman team will scrimmage at 3 and the varsity takes center stage at Cougar Stadium at 4 with a practice and a scrimmage. Admission is $7 for an all-day pass and children ages 6 and under are free.
The varsities of all three schools open regular-season play next Friday night. Hewitt-Trussville travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Montgomery Bell Academy. Clay-Chalkville hosts Florence and Pinson Valley hosts McAdory. All games are at 7 p.m.