From Foxburg to Freeport, there will be the familiar sounds of crashing pads, cheering fans and hut, hut, hikes.

The high school football season kicks off Friday night with several intriguing openers and even more pressing questions:

Can Karns City do it again? Last year they won the district title and advanced to the PIAA playoffs.

How will a new coach fare at Slippery Rock? Brendan Hathaway takes over a program that has been in a state of flux for the past 12 months.

On to the Week 1 picks:

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Karns City 26, Moniteau 19 — For the first time since JFK was in office, the Gremlins and Warriors square off in a season opener.It's hard to predict the outcome of this game under normal circumstances, but season openers tend to make high school players all weird.Moniteau has won the last two regular-season meetings, but the Gremlins should end that run.•

New Castle 24, Butler 20 — It will be another stormy night when the Golden Tornado and the Red Hurricane clash Friday.Unfortunately, new Butler coach Jim Rankin will suffer his first loss with the Tornado.•

Seneca Valley 25, Norwin 14 — The Raiders like to throw the ball. Norwin is good at stopping the run, but who knows how they can do against the pass?Bad combo.•

Brashear 19, Knoch 13 — Brashear makes playing for City League titles a habit.•

Mars 25, Moon 9 — Insert the Battle of the Celestial Bodies pun here.A planet trumps a moon any day.•

Freeport 22, Highlands 11 — Believe in the Yellowjackets. They are going to win a lot of games, including this one.•

Wilmington 36, Slippery Rock 12 — The Greyhounds lost a lot of their pack after winning a state title two years ago and getting to the PIAA semifinals last season.But they do have stud running back Sutton Whiting. That's enough.•

Redbank Valley 19, Union 14 — Don't sleep on the Golden Knights this season. Union will give a depleted Redbank squad a run for its money.•

Clarion-Limestone 40, A-C Valley 11 — The Falcons have heart, that's for sure.They just don't have many players on their roster.•

Grove City 26, Erie East 10 — This isn't the pushover East teams you have grown to know. After compiling a 1-28 record over a three-year span, the Warriors won five games in 2009.A sixth would have put them in the playoffs, but a double-overtime loss to the Eagles kept them out.East will be hungry for revenge, but Grove City is just too talented on both sides of the ball.•

Schenley 30, Summit Academy 19 — Predicting how a Summit Academy team will do in a season opener is like trying to forecast what the winter weather will be like in Western Pennsylvania — in August.So, this is just a shot in the dark.Scoop is the No. 1-ranked newspaper mascot, according to the latest AP poll.