Now that it’s really Week One of the high school football season, I have a certain level of excitement today.

There’s nothing quite like the opening of a high school football season.

Best of all, there’s going to be a chill in the air tonight, so it will feel like football season, unlike some opening weeks I remember when I sweat more than a 350-pound defensive tackle.

Five area teams are making their season debut tonight. I’m sure I’m not alone in looking forward to that first Friday night under the lights.

The band playing, the smell of concession stand food, the promise of a new season. The hopes. The dreams.

It makes me want to run through the banner myself onto the field to start a game.

Of course, my preparation is different now. I have to have my pen and my backup pen just in case the starting pen goes down with an ink-related injury.

It also has me thinking of opening-nights past.

Here are some of the memorable Week One games I’ve covered over the years at the Butler Eagle:

Karns City at Moniteau, Sept. 3, 2010: The Gremlins were down 26-21 with a little more than two minutes remaining on the clock at Moniteau when Dylan “don’t call me Eric” Hipple directed a 90-yard touchdown drive to win the game.

It soured the debuts of Moniteau quarterback Kyle Armagost and freshman running back Dustin Geagan.

Knoch at Freeport, Aug. 26, 2005: The charm of Swartz Field. A hot August night. Two schools in close proximity that haven’t played each other since. Jordan Shoop putting on a running and throwing show for Knoch.

That was the story of this game, a 14-7 Knights win.

Slippery Rock at Grove City, Sept. 1, 2006: Then-Eagles’ coach Jeff Bell threatened to have a practice after this game if his team did not perform to his expectations.

They did, to the team’s relief, holding on for a 21-13 win over rival Slippery Rock at Forker Field.

That allowed Grove City players to attend a post-game dance instead of beating each other senseless in a late-night practice.

If you scoff, don’t. I really think Bell meant it.

The Rockets drove to the Grove City 15 with a little more than a minute remaining, but stalled.

Karns City at Brookville, Sept. 4, 2015: This wasn’t memorable because of what happened on the field — the Gremlins rolled 47-0 — but because of the weather.

Storms and lightning wrecked havoc all over western Pennsylvania that night, postponing some and delaying others. This game didn’t end until nearly 11 p.m.

Slippery Rock at Kittanning, Sept. 1, 2000: This was by no means memorable for Slippery Rock — the Rockets lost 40-0. But it was memorable for me because it was the first football game I covered for the Butler Eagle.

More than 200 games later, I’m getting ready to start another season.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.