Prep football players ready for Friday Night Lights again

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — The Friday night lights are ready to go back on.

High school football season openers are scheduled for tomorrow around the area and players can hardly wait for their Friday routines to include games again.

“Friday’s are very exciting. Going to school and everybody is hyping you up,” said Tremont senior Brody Morris. “You’re getting ready for the game. You get there about two hours before the game to get dialed in. Once the game starts, it’s fun.”

Football practice started on Aug. 12 around the state. Some schools played limited scrimmages against opponents in ‘Week Zero’ games last weekend. But the games begin for real this week.

And perhaps the butterflies return for players.

“The first thing I wake up and realize it’s game day. We get down (to the stadium) here, chill out for a bit in the locker room,” said East Peoria senior Connor Liescheidt. “We watch the JV game and cheer for the boys. Listen to music before the game to get pumped up.”

The high school football regular season is nine weeks long. Then the postseason begins after the playoff field is announced by the Illinois High School Association on Oct. 26.

That seems like a long way off but players and coaches will tell you the season goes fast. That’s why the next nine Friday nights are special.

“It’s one of the best feelings there is,” Stark County senior Dillon Steelman said about fall Friday nights. “I think about it all year long. Every Friday night I say I wish I was playing football.”

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