Friday Night Spotlight: High School Football is Back

Football is back. 

Camp is over, jamborees are done and now the real fun begins. All across Missouri Friday night has become football night. 

The 2012 season is set to kick off tonight with Week 1 action. This season will have new Districts, new rules and, of course, new teams on the rise. Let's take a look at who is taking the field on the first day of the 2012 season. 

 (0-0) at Francis Howell Central (0-0) at 7 p.m.

The Zumwalt East Lions will open the 2012 with a road trip, but it won't be a long one. The Lions will head south on Mid Rivers Mall Drive to take on Francis Howell Central for the kickoff of the new year. 

Zumwalt East is coming off a 5-5 season that ended in a .

Howell Central will be entering 2012 looking to snap a five-game losing skid. The Spartans were just 3-7 last year with the last win coming on Sept. 23, 2011, against Timberland.   

Howell Central and Zumwalt East, despite both being in the St. Peters area, have never met on the football field. 

Fort Zumwalt East Lions

Francis Howell Central

Record

0-0

0-0

2011 Record

5-5 (3-2)

3-7 (3-3)

2011 Points For 

321

165

2011 Points Against

314

349

 (0-0) at Troy (0-0) at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs of Zumwalt South had a turnaround year in 2011. After a three-run run that saw that team win just two times (in 30 chances), South came back in 2011 with a 5-5 season. The Bulldogs will look to build on that run when the open the 2012 season on the road against Troy. 

Troy is a member of the . The change in format means that this week is not just an ordinary game, but rather a big-time game with playoff implications. Gone are the days when wins only mattered in the last few weeks of the season—this year the emphasis is on every game counting.

Troy was 4-6 in 2011. The Trojans and Bulldogs last played on Sept. 18, 2009 with Troy eeking out a one-point 46-45 win.  

Fort Zumwalt South Bulldogs

Troy Trojans

Record

2-1

1-2

2011 Record

5-5 (3-3)

4-6 (1-4)

2011 Points For

307

175

2011 Points Against

235

222

 (0-0) vs. Principia Panthers (0-0) at 7 p.m. 

Lutheran will get a chance to open the 2012 season at home when the Cougars host the Principia Panthers. The Cougars are coming off a 2011 season to forget—Lutheran went 0-10 and was outscored 404-82. Lutheran's last win came on Sept. 3, 2010. Since that 35-0 win against JFK, the Cougars have dropped 18 straight. 

Principia was only slightly better than the Cougars in 2011. The Panthers were just 1-9 and were outscored 429-118 on the season.