Can you smell it?

I can, but of course I have a beak for these kinds of things.

It's football, baby! And it's back.

And so am I.

Yes, you can smell the freshly cut grass, well, er, the freshly powerwashed synthetic turf.

You can certainly smell the food being whipped up at the concession stands and you can feel the atmosphere of high school football.

There is nothing like it.

Hopefully, these inaugural picks won't smell too much.

•

Butler 22, New Castle 14 — It was a long season for the Golden Tornado in 2007, but this is a new year and Butler is poised to get it off to a good start against an old friend in New Castle.•

Seneca Valley 24, Norwin 20 — The Raiders made the playoffs last season and want nothing more than to make it two years in a row. SV will get win No. 1.•

Knoch 28, Hopewell 15 — All aboard the Knights bandwagon! It should be a nice ride on the motor of Tim McNerney.•

Mars 19, Moon 9 — In the battle of celestial bodies, pick the planet over the satellite every time.•

Moniteau 28, Clarion 21 — Last year, the Warriors nearly rallied to beat Clarion late in the season. It summed up Moniteau's year: poor starts, fantastic finishes.The 'Teau is determined to avoid an encore of its Jekyll and Hyde Show from last year.Look for Moniteau to start fast in this one.•

Slippery Rock 17, Ft. LeBoeuf 14 — This is the toughest game to read this week.On the one hand, the Rockets are coming off a playoff season and have one of the top quarterbacks around in Jono Powell.On the other hand, Ft. LeBoeuf is vastly improved, is big and runs an offense made popular by Fred Flintstone. They might as well wear leather helmets.But it's a home game for Slippery Rock, so it gets the edge.•

Kittanning 27, Freeport 15 — Tough debut for first-year Yellowjackets coach John Gaillot.•

Brookville 42, Union 8 — How is this fair? Take one of the smallest Class A teams in the state in Union and pit them in the opener against one of the bigger Class AA teams.Get used to it, Golden Knights. It's going to be one of those years.•

Keystone 39, A-C Valley 7 — Not enough A-C to cool down Keystone.•

Grove City 27, Central 10 — Surprise! The Eagles got their quarterback healthy in a hurry.Mike Burk is doing a Willis Reed and is playing the season opener on a broken foot. It's just not as bad as originally thought. Certainly not a six-to-eight week injury.Eagles roll.•

Shady Side Academy 31, Summit Academy 15 — No one knows for sure how talented Summit will be this season.The Knights were plenty talented last season and Steve Sherer certainly knows how to get a team playing together quickly.Until I can get a bead on this Summit team, I have to pick its foe.Scoop is glad to be back.