Area football teams take the field for 2021 campaign

Football season is upon us. Area high school teams will take the field Friday night to kick off the 2021 campaign, and college football is just around the corner.

Whether your school is poised for a big year or in the process of rebuilding, there's something special about the Friday night lights. School pride. Marching bands. Cheer squads and fans. It's an entire experience. Above all, there's good football to be watched.

In this area, much of the attention goes to the Jackson Indians following their 2020 championship season. Jackson graduated a number of players, but it's a program still loaded with talent and led by an impressive coaching staff. Of course there are other talented teams in the area, too. And you can read about them all in Gridiron Magazine, the Southeast Missourian's football preview publication included in Thursday's newspaper for subscribers and available for purchase at area Rhodes 101 Convenience Stores. It's 48 pages packed with photos, stories and analysis that will have you prepared for this year's football season.

Southeast Missouri State's football team will get started Thursday at home -- and what a home opener! The Redhawks will host rival Southern Illinois at Houck Stadium in the War for the Wheel game. SEMO has consistently put together a good product under Coach Tom Matukewicz, most recently winning the OVC in 2019. Even with last season's abbreviated season due to COVID-19, the Redhawks battled and finished 4-4.

You can follow our high school and college football coverage all season long in the Southeast Missourian and online at semissourian.com. Here's to a great season and lots of fun on the gridiron. We wish all the teams much success.