Goodbye summer, hello football

How did September 1^st arrive so quickly?  Was it not yesterday we were talking about Memorial Day and the unofficial start to summer at the Jersey Shore and yet here we are about the put the finishing touches on the unofficial end.

I find summer has become like Christmas. So much build up and you snap your fingers and it’s over.  As I get older it seems like the months of June, July & August just fly by when all I want is for them to crawl.  Father Time waits for no one.

There is only one consolation as we head into Labor Day and that is what follows summer: football season.  It is here with the Giants, Jets & Eagles playing their final pre-season games last night while the first full weekend of college football and even high school football at the Shore Conference have arrived.

It’s called week “0” and highlighting the three-games being played this weekend is tonight’s Class A South matchup that finds Southern traveling to longtime rival Central.  Last year the Golden Eagles rallied for a victory in what was Justin Fumando’s debut as head coach.  That game set the stage for a surprising 7-2 season for Central while Southern got off to an 0-3 start before turning things around and winning 5 of their next 6 games to qualify for the state playoffs.

With record-setting running back Mike Bickford now at Kean University the Golden Eagles will unleash highly-regarded sophomore Kavon Chambers along with junior quarterback Joe Fowler.  The Rams are led by senior fullback/linebacker Joe Miele, a four-year starter who is one of the toughest players around.

This is the 45^th time the two schools have met with Central leading the series 24-19 with one tie.  On the line is not only the Boyd-Emmert Trophy but a leg up on the rest of the teams in Class A South who don’t open until next weekend.

Hopefully the weather will hold off tomorrow when Monmouth University kicks off its 25^th season of college football and cuts the ribbon on the new Kessler Stadium following a $16 million renovation.

There will be a ribbon-cutting at 12:30 p.m.  as the Hawks take on Lafayette with a rare 3 p.m. kickoff in West Long Branch.  Yours truly will be back as the public address voice of Monmouth football and I’m excited to see the new press box where I’ll be working from.