Vinemont’s Colby Nicholas lines up at receiver in the foreground while waiting for a snap during the first week of fall camp. The Eagles are set to host Addison tonight in a battle of rivals still searching for their first points of the fall. The game will serve as Vinemont’s opener. Addison got going last week.

This year’s high school football party officially opened its doors to a limited group last Friday.

A week later, everyone’s receiving an invitation.

While a sliver of squads opted to begin the regular season in what the AHSAA has dubbed Week 0, most around the area and state went the jamboree route for one last warmup.

Whether they played for keeps or just for pride, a number of local programs walked away with massive success. Others are probably hoping to already start over.

The latter is likely the case for Addison and Vinemont, who’ll square off at Eagle Stadium in a rivalry renewed last season following a 15-year hiatus.

Both teams are hungry for their first points of the fall after being shut out last week. Addison fell 35-0 to Class 2A No. 10 Pickens County in its home and season opener, while Vinemont dropped a 42-0 jamboree at county-rival Good Hope.

Neither result offers much in terms of predictions for the latest matchup, but history definitely does. Addison’s won seven in a row and is 18-7 all-time in the series.

That’s all I need to lean toward the Dawgs, who’re looking to avoid their second 0-2 start in four seasons.

Rob’s Pick: Addison

Jake’s Pick: Addison

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Danville (0-0) at Cold Springs (1-0)

The 2A Eagles have the tools to pile on some pretty hefty accomplishments this fall.

In Friday’s home opener, they’re going for history.

A win would not only extend Cold Springs’ series streak to six and overall advantage to 9-4, but it would mark the first time the 45th-year program has ever started three consecutive seasons 2-0.

Go ahead and let your dueces loose now.

Cold Springs is still soaring after slamming Brilliant on the road last week and is itching to show the surely raucous crowd at Cranford Stricklin Stadium what’s in store for 2015.

Danville (4A) is fresh off a victory of its own, but a 36-0 jamboree decision over a West Morgan team that won just one game last fall isn’t enough to sway my pick.

I’ll take the Eagles running away.

Rob’s Pick: Cold Springs

Jake’s Pick: Cold Springs

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Etowah (0-1) at Cullman (1-0)

The Bearcats had every reason to get up for last week’s rematch against Arab.

Don’t expect the intensity to slip with a ranked opponent coming to town for Game 2.

Fueled by a season-opening loss in 2014, the Black and Gold bludgeoned Arab 56-7 in a one-sided battle that got out of hand in the second half. Etowah, meanwhile, is smarting from a 13-6 loss to 6A Northridge that resulted in a tumble from sixth to 10th in the 5A rankings.

Cullman’s debut saw five players combine for eight touchdowns and so many more emerge as potential assets on either side of the ball. Aside from a single lapse, the Bearcat defense was downright dominant, a simple truth Etowah is about to see firsthand for the second straight year.

The Black and Gold held the Blue Devils to just eight points in a 2014 rout to bump their series lead to 12-5-1. They’ve won five in a row over Etowah and nine of the last 10.

Another W Friday would hand Cullman its ninth 2-0 start in 10 seasons.

Consider it done in a clash that should show just how wide the divide is between 6A and 5A football.

Rob’s Pick: Cullman

Jake’s Pick: Cullman

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Good Hope (0-0) at Cordova (1-0)

The Raiders came oh, so close to upsetting the Blue Devils in a 48-41 shootout a year ago.

Pulling it off Friday would be one heckuva way for Alan Scott to start his coaching career at his alma mater.

Good Hope is using a trip to the No. 3 team in the state as a gauge for where the new-look program stacks up in the 4A landscape. Hopes are high after a 42-0 shutout of Vinemont in a jamboree featuring a fierce rushing attack that’s come to be expected of a Scott-led squad.

Cordova, however, will be no slouch. The perennial contender only got better after beating the Raiders last fall and followed up a state semifinal appearance with a 29-19 win over 5A Dora in last week’s opener.

Good Hope, which leads the series 3-2, would be wise to keep an eye on the Blue Devils’ Noah Ard at all times. The playmaker was the X-factor in the 2014 classic with four touchdowns scored four different ways.

The upset would be nice, but it won’t be necessary to classify the Raiders’ debut a success. Pushing Cordova to the edge for the second consecutive season would be more than enough for me.

Rob’s Pick: Cordova

Jake’s Pick: Good Hope

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Brindlee Mountain (0-0) at Holly Pond (0-0)

Fresh off a fall littered with promise and near misses, the Broncos are another year older and in a hurry to snap the state’s longest active losing streak at 20 games.

The Green and White will get their first chance of 2015 Friday against a team that only won one other game last season after shutting out Holly Pond 21-0 in Week 1. The victory tilted the series scales 3-2 in the Lions’ direction.

Both programs are seeking to put jamboree losses behind them. The Broncos were defeated 20-8 by Ashville and 33-13 by West End, while Brindlee Mountain was bested 30-27 by Isabella on a second-chance field goal.

I know I said this last year, too, but I’ve got to believe the Green and White will taste victory this fall. They have too many kids busting their tails to turn things around that any other conclusion would just be cruel.

But also like last year, I think some of their better opportunities are a little farther down the road.

Rob’s Pick: Brindlee Mountain

Jake’s Pick: Brindlee Mountain

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Hayden (0-0) at West Point (0-0)

The Warriors are not the same squad that smashed the Wildcats 31-0 to open the 2014 campaign.

It’s unlikely to show on the scoreboard, though.

West Point enters Friday’s 5A showdown as the heavy favorite despite graduating a surplus of senior starters and returning only one starter on the defensive side. Neither detail appeared to matter much in a rare Saturday jamboree, as the Warriors pulled it together in every aspect to blank Curry 21-0 in just a half.

Hayden, which has won only one game each of the last two seasons, beat up on Susan Moore 26-0 in its own jamboree. Considering Susan Moore’s 3A status, that won’t have West Point shaking in its boots as the program sets its sights on winning a fourth consecutive opener.

The Warriors’ shutout last year snapped a three-game skid in the series and gave them a 7-6 leg up overall.

I don’t see any way that advantage doesn’t grow to two games by the end of Friday night.

Rob’s Pick: West Point

Jake’s Pick: West Point

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Fairview (0-0) at Hanceville (0-0)

Check out www.cullmantimes.com or Thursday’s Times for a full preview of this county matchup.

Rob’s Pick: Fairview

Jake’s Pick: Fairview

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Cullman Christian (2-0)

The Lions have had this week’s win in the bag since Monday, when Faith Christian Academy forfeited their scheduled six-man contest.

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Rob’s Record to Date: 3-0

Jake’s Record to Date: 3-0