The importance high school football has for the communities in which it is played cannot be overstated. Each week’s game brings groups of people together to cheer for a common cause. Football teams give many small communities – such as Billingsley, Isabella, Maplesville, Marbury and Verbena – their identities.

And perhaps no single game each year is more anticipated than each school’s Homecoming. Four local teams will play their Homecoming games this Friday night: Billingsley, Chilton County High, Jemison and Marbury. The visitors will be Akron, Monroe County High, Dallas County High and B.B. Comer, respectively.

Students will dress up and make signs and floats, pep rallies will be held, queens will be crowned, fans will cheer and football games will be played. These are the kind of weeks that make our communities what they are.