Are you ready for some football?

The end of summer, for some, has officially arrived come Monday with the first day of high school football practice in the Hoosier State.

Area teams will hit the field for non-contact work Monday and Tuesday before the hitting can start Wednesday.

Prep preseason scrimmages are set for Friday, Aug. 15 with the regular-season openers on Friday, Aug. 22.

The following is a snapshot look at the handful of teams in our coverage area. Complete team previews will appear on our site in the next couple of weeks.

Warsaw will need a youthful team to grow up quickly in the always tough Northern Lakes Conference this fall. Coach Phil Jensen’s Tigers, who finished 7-4 overall and 5-2 in league play in 2013, must replace the likes of record-setting All-State workhorse tailback Tristan McClone and energizer All-State linebacker Gabe Furnivall.

The Tigers host Tippecanoe Valley for its scrimmage Aug 15 before visiting Columbia City for the lidlifter a week later.

Wawasee should have no trouble putting points on the scoreboard this fall. The Warriors, who were 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the NLC under first-year coach Josh Ekovich in 2013, have firepower in quarterback Gage Reinhard and wide receiver Clayton Cook. Cook, a two-sport star who competed in the State Finals in track in June, has made a verbal committment to Ball State University.

The Warriors scrimmage at Mishawaka Marian Aug. 15 and play at Whitko in the season opener.

Tippecanoe Valley will count on some new faces at the skill positions this fall. The Vikings also have a new coach, but a very familiar one. Scott Bibler, who guided the Vikings to 98 wins from 1990-2005, takes over as the man in charge. Bibler, an assistant coach the last several years, replaces Jeff Shriver, now the defensive coordinator for the Vikings.

Valley, which finished 5-5 overall and 5-2 in the Three Rivers Conference a year ago, lost its record-setting connectin of quarterback Ben Shriver and wide receiver Tanner Andrews among others. Andrews, a three-sport star, is slated to play baseball at Purdue University.

Valley will scrimmage at Warsaw Aug. 15 and then host Culver Academy on Aug. 22 in the opener.

Whitko looks to continue its winning ways with a strong senior group. Josh Mohr guided the Wildcats to a 6-4 overall mark in his first season in 2013, including a share of the TRC championship at 6-1.

The Wildcats used its outstanding, hard-nosed rushing attack to average 31 points-per-game and nearly 300 yards rushing per contest a year ago. The “Flexbone” scheme is slated to return an outstanding senior trio of Tanner Hughes, Devin Gerding and Trace Killian in the backfield to lead the way.

Whitko is scheduled to scrimmage at Garrett and then host Wawasee in the opener.

Triton will look to improve this fall under second-year coach John Johns. The thin Trojans won their opener in 2013 before losing their final nine games in a season slowed by injuries and small numbers.

Triton, which averaged just over nine points-per-outing in 2013, will host Manchester for its scrimmage and then play at Caston in the opener.