SELMA — High school football begins Friday in Selma, when Central Christian Academy returns to the sport and first-year coach Kenny Strong leads Meadowview into its home opener against Tuscaloosa.

For CCA — which returns to the football field after the sport was discontinued — goes on the road against Open Door in a different type of football for the area: eight-man.

But it’s football. And CCA football coach Darrell Walker is excited to be back on the sidelines.

“It’s a big deal for us,” he said, noting he’s not sure what to expect during the season.

“Everyone we play will be new for us,” he said. “We’re going to take it how it comes. … The school has a buzz about it since the students have realized football is back.”

The Warriors will be young this year, not just because it’s the first year of eight-man football.

“We will be very young at all positions,” Walker said. “But we have good leadership with quarterback Pierre Coleman, junior running back Robert Davis and eighth-grade fullback Dariaun Glenn.”

Walker isn’t selling his players short.

“I am very confident in our players,” he said. “They have been working hard all summer. I think about halfway through the season we should be competitive.”

At Meadowview, Coach Kenny Strong hasn’t seen Tuscaloosa, but the news reports are impressive.

“Their quarterback committed to the University of Alabama in baseball, and his brother already plays baseball there,” Strong said. “And he is as fast as lightning. They have a running back who’s 6-2, 240, and two wide receivers who can fly.”

There’s good news, however. At least, history has been good to Meadowview when it plays Tuscaloosa and Strong is on the field.

“I spent three years at Tuscaloosa” as a coach, Strong said. “The last time I was on the field and Tuscaloosa was playing Meadowview, Meadowview won the game 73-0. Of course, I was coaching at Tuscaloosa at the time.”

Strong said the first game of the season — especially at home — is special.

“We’ve got a good group of guys; they’re fun to be around; and they are very competitive,” he said. “They’re like 30 sons to me. … I’ve got some winners on those uniforms.”