August 17th should be named pigskin heaven day in the Southern Tier. Section IV football teams from all over began practicing with the hopes of winning a state title. We start with the state champions Maine-Endwell, a team that treats football as a culture - not just a game.

The Spartans return a lot of starters from last years team as they look for their 52 consecutive win in Week One against Corning at home. If M-E beats the Hawks on Friday, September 4th they will beat Hornell's consecutive win streak of 51, a streak that began in 2009 before losing in the state final in 2012.

When you look at this team they may be small, they all don't look stars, but they do one thing right, play like one strong unit.

The back of their shirts in practice said " Pressure is a Privilege" and they strive off it when battling on the gridiron.

"We are going to try to go week to week which we have done in the past but obviously our first game is the most important to us right now because it is our next game and there is also some extra added stuff to that so we are looking forward to it," said Head Coach Matt Gallagher.

"A lot of focus right now. It's going to be a big game because we have a lot riding into it. We will have some fans here for the game and we are going to work hard to get better and come out on top," said Senior Drew Gallagher.

"Our guys in Pee Wee football are winning games as well as Modified, and JV has been great for years so stepping is what this program has done for their whole life so it's kinda normal to us right now," said Senior Kyle Balmer.

And another story line that will be cool to follow is Head Coach Matt Gallagher will be coaching his youngest son Drew to wrap up the Gallagher trio at M-E.