This is an opinion piece.

Finally, it’s game time.

The Alabama Independent School Association kicks off its football season this week, while the Alabama High School Athletic Association officially begins play next Thursday.

Relish it while you can. It will go by quickly. It always does.

Obviously, one huge storyline as we get started is the heat. That is a topic every August, but this year the weather has been particularly intense.

The Florida High School Athletic Association sent a message to its member schools this week, reminding them of the temperature guidelines for when outdoor activities can proceed as normal. Schools in some parts of that state have moved kickoffs back from 7 to 7:30 p.m. in an effort to provide some relief.

I haven’t heard that conversation yet in Alabama, but I’m sure officials in both the AISA and AHSAA will monitor the situation as needed.

The schedule next week tentatively includes 27 Thursday games, 153 on Friday and four on Saturday.

Here are a few other storylines to get you ready for the 2023 season:

Same game, new names

Two of Montgomery’s biggest high schools have changed names for the 2023 school year.

The school formerly known as Robert E. Lee is now Percy Julian. A Montgomery native who was the grandson of slaves, Julian is credited with creating synthesized medications to treat glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis. Lee was a confederate general. The school mascot also has changed. Percy Julian is now the Phoenix. Lee was the Generals.

Jefferson Davis High School is now J.A.G. High School named after the first initial of the last names of civil rights activists Frank Johnson, Ralph Abernathy and Robert Graetz. Jefferson Davis was president of the confederacy. J.A.G.’s mascot is the Jaguars. Jeff Davis was the Volunteers.

Percy Julian opens the season next week against city rival Sidney Lanier. J.A.G. opens against Opelika on Aug. 31.

End of the line

Another high-profile Montgomery school, Sidney Lanier, is set to play its final football season in 2023.

Montgomery Public School officials have started the merger of Lanier and G.W. Carver. Starting this month, ninth-graders zoned for Lanier are attending Carver. The system plans on the remaining students merging with Carver next year.

Lanier won three state titles in a row from 1966-1968 and also claims nine “mythical” state titles, according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.

On a roll once again

Fyffe once again enters the season with the AHSAA’s longest win streak at 15 games. Paul Benefield’s Red Devils went 15-0 last year and won the Class 2A state title. Since 2017, Fyffe is 97-3 with four state titles and four undefeated seasons.

Each of the other 2022 state champions (Thompson, Saraland, Ramsay, Andalusia, St. James, Leroy) lost at least one game.

The drive for five

Thompson has won the last four Class 7A state titles and will look for No. 5 this fall. Mark Freeman’s Warriors defeated Auburn in the title game a year ago after suffering three losses in the regular season.

Thompson’s four state titles are already more than any other 7A team. Since the AHSAA went to seven classifications in 2014, only four schools have won championships. The Warriors lead the way with their four. Hoover has won three and McGill-Toolen and Central-Phenix City have one each.

Thompson will face a tough road this year that starts with 7A Opelika on Friday in the AHSAA Kickoff Classic in Montgomery. The Warriors also will host IMG Academy and Class 6A power Clay-Chalkville in addition to key region games against Vestavia Hills, Hoover and Hewitt-Trussville.

No school has won five straight football championships since Hazlewood from 1988-92.

The all-time wins race

UMS-Wright’s Terry Curtis passed Vestavia Hills legend Buddy Anderson last fall as the state’s all-time winningest AHSAA coach.

Curtis enters 2023 with a record of 348-93 in 35 years as a head coach. Anderson retired two years ago after 43 years as head coach at Vestavia with 346 victories.

Two active coaches will have a chance to catch Curtis eventually. Danny Horn (Central-Clay County) enters the fall with 341 victories. Fyffe’s Paul Benefield has 337.

The next active coaches on the all-time wins list are Westbrook Christian’s Steve Smith (283) and Plainview’s Dale Pruitt (279).

National TV games

At least two high school games are scheduled to be televised nationally this season.

Reigning Class 6A champion Saraland opens the season next Friday by hosting Tennessee power Lipscomb Academy. That game will be televised by ESPN with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Later in the season, four-time reigning 7A champ Thompson will host Class 6A power Clay-Chalkville on ESPN2. That game is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28.

All four of those teams feature state and nationally known recruits.

Mr. Football returns

For just the second time in the 41-year history of the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Mr. Football Award, the previous year’s winner is back with a chance to repeat.

Alabama commit Ryan Williams won the award following a banner 2022 season that helped his Saraland team to its first state championships. Williams enters his junior year this fall and will play in a high-profile opener against Lipscomb Academy.

No one has ever won Mr. Football twice in a high school career.

The only other player who had a chance was Beauregard’s La’Damian Webb. The current South Alabama running back won the award as a junior in 2016, but Austin’s Asa Martin took it home in 2017.

The ASWA prep committee votes on the Mr. Football award after all championship games are completed in December.

It will be announced in January.

Big names on the move

Some of the biggest names in Alabama high school football coaching for the past two decades made big moves this offseason.

Steve Smith left Piedmont after winning 198 games and five state titles in 17 years. He retired from public school coaching to take over at Westbrook Christian in Gadsden.

Hall of Famer Steve Mask left Pell City after just one season to return to the Gulf Coast. The veteran coach, who won four state titles in a decade at St. Paul’s, is now the head coach at perennial 6A playoff contender Theodore.

Replacing Mask at Pell City is controversial former Hoover head coach Rush Propst. After a brief off-season stint as associate head coach at Coosa Christian, Propst takes over the 6A Panthers program. Propst won 110 games and five state titles with the Bucs from 1999-2007 and has 295 career wins (after having to forfeit seven wins at Valdosta High). He has been out of coaching for the past two seasons.

Another Hall of Fame coach, Phil Lazenby, is also in a new job this fall. Lazenby left Bayside Academy in Daphne after 16 years and 115 wins and is starting a new program down the road at Bayshore Christian School. The Eagles will play a handful of middle school and junior varsity games this fall with an eye toward playing on the varsity level in 2024.

Must-see TV

Alabama Public Television will again broadcast the AHSAA Super 7 football championships and state basketball title games during the upcoming high school season.

AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs noted having the games on APT provides true statewide coverage for two of the marquee events on the Alabama high school schedule.

“We got rave reviews for their production last fall and last winter,” Briggs said.

In addition, Briggs said the games will be available on streaming services, including YouTubeTV this season.

Mike McKenzie, director of programming and public information for Alabama Public Television, said the network received “incredible response” from broadcasting the games last season.

“I know the excitement is going to be out there again,” McKenzie said.

Thought for the Week

“No act of kindness is too small.”

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.