Can you feel it?

The warm days followed by the cool nights?

The smell of freshly cut grass?

The sound of a fight song pounding off your chest?

It's that time again — high school football time.

It's a rite of late summer. The magic of that first Friday night under the lights, players whipped into a froth in anticipation of the first run, the first throw, the first catch and the first hit of the season.

Week 1 in Butler County shapes up to be an interesting one.

Some teams are looking to build on the successes of 2010. Others are looking to erase the bitter losses from a year ago.

On to the picks:

•

New Castle 24, Butler 12 — The struggles of the Golden Tornado on the football field have been well documented.Another new coach is on board in Clyde Conti. If anyone can turn around Butler, it's Conti.But it won't happen quickly — at least not in the opener.•

Seneca Valley 34, Norwin 13 — It's going to be fun watching the Raiders' offense this season. If the defensive effort is just as enjoyable, watch out. Seneca Valley gets off to a fast start.•

Moniteau 25, Karns City 20 — These two teams meeting in Week 1 is a crime. This is Michigan-Ohio State. This is Pitt-WVU. Those teams wouldn't dream of playing in a season opener.But that's what has happened in this series. Karns City opened last year with an improbable win at Moniteau. The Warriors return the favor.•

Knoch 40, Brashear 6 — The Knights could be

very good this season.They'll start out on a very good note.•

Mars 14, Moon 13 — The Planets lost a slew of talent to graduation, but coach Scott Heinauer has a way of reloading, not rebuilding.This one is close to call, but I give the edge to Heinauer's ability to keep a program humming along.•

Highlands 26, Freeport 15 — The Rams are heading in the right direction under former Freeport coach Sam Albert. The Yellowjackets should be a good team, too, but Highlands will be a little to much for Freeport.•

Grove City 39, East 3 — The only thing that can stop the Eagles are themselves. Simply put, Grove City is loaded coming off a 10-0 regular season in 2010.East is no match.•

Redbank Valley 26, Union 16 — It's been a long time since the Golden Knights won a season opener.•

Clarion-Limestone 27, A-C Valley 10 — Don't sleep on the Falcons this year. They could win a few games, but not this one.

University Prep 23, Summit Academy 19 — I must admit, I really have no idea who will win this game. Flip a coin.

Wilmington 40, Slippery Rock 15 — The Rockets' revamped defense gets a big test early.

Scoop has been fearlessly predicting high school football games since he was a hatchling.