South Jersey football gets into full swing | Phil Anastasia

It's the sound, more than anything.

You hear the big drum from the parking lot, long before you reach the football field and see the bright lights ringing the stadium and the players cutting across on the still-green grass in pregame practice and the folks busy in the snack stand and the early arrivals finding that just-right seat in the bleachers.

You hear the horns, too, and know the marching band is warming up and Friday Night Football is here again and it's time to spin the wheel again and start another school year.

By happy circumstance, the first game to kick off in South Jersey this Friday could be Camden Catholic at Camden, since it's a 6 o'clock start in historic Farnham Park while most other contests won't begin until 7.

That means it will be 5:30 or so when the Mighty Marching Panthers — Camden's rightfully renowned band — make their way down Park Boulevard and come through the gates and circle the refurbished field and set up shop next to the old press box with "You Want the High, You Got the High" painted on the front.

Camden Catholic, the No. 4 team in the Inquirer preseason Top 25, has won 22 games in a row against South Jersey teams. The Irish are 26-1 against South Jersey teams in three seasons under coach Nick Strom.

The lone loss?

That was Oct. 10, 2014, in Farnham Park, when Gov. Chris Christie and other dignitaries stood on the sideline and current Michigan safety Brad Hawkins returned a late interception for a Camden touchdown in a 27-14 victory.

Strom's team is talented and deep and a solid favorite on paper heading into Friday night's opener. But the coach is wary of playing Camden at Camden.

"They are so tough at home," Strom said. "The atmosphere, the band. They play so well on that field."

Camden's band is just one of the dozens and dozens that will take the field Friday night, playing before the game and at halftime, with those big drums and those horns creating the soundtrack for the official start of another season, another school year, another spin of the wheel.

No. 25 Camden (1-0) at No. 4 Camden Catholic (0-0): Junior quarterback Rob McCoy is a master at running the Irish's fast-paced, no-huddle spread offense.

Camden senior quarterback Premire Wilson threw three touchdown passes in his debut as a starter last weekend against Cahokia (Ill.).

Pick: Camden Catholic, 21-13.

No. 6 Shawnee (0-0) at No. 15 Cherokee (0-0): The host Chiefs, who are rebuilding a bit, could struggle to move the football against the Renegades' sturdy defense led by senior linebacker Ryan Parris and several other veterans.

Pick: Shawnee, 13-7.

No. 17 Willingboro (0-0) at Cinnaminson (0-0): Senior quarterback Trae Greene leads the visiting Chimeras, who are coming off a seven-win season that included a playoff victory over Haddonfield and a 27-26 loss to Cedar Creek in the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals.

Cinnaminson is the defending WJFL Liberty Division champion and has a running back to watch in junior Rashad Raymond.

Pick: Willingboro, 22-20.

No. 10 Delsea (0-0) at No. 1 Timber Creek (1-0): Sophomore quarterback Damir Lomax is a player to watch for the visiting Crusaders, who loom as the Chargers' top challenger in both the WJFL National Division and South Jersey Group 3.

Senior running backs Jerome Gibson and Kyle Dobbins, a Temple recruit and transfer from St. Augustine, are players to watch for Timber Creek, which has won 17 games in a row.

Pick: Timber Creek, 20-14.

No. 24 Haddonfield (0-0) at Collingswood (0-0): Cousins Ben Klaus, a senior two-way back, and Gabe Klaus, a junior two-way lineman, lead the visiting Bulldogs, who have won 10 in a row in this series between Colonial Conference and South Jersey Group 2 rivals.

Senior linemen Malik Dunbar and Matt Meloni supply some muscle up front for the host Panthers.

Pick: Haddonfield, 17-13.

No. 14 Williamstown (0-0) at Kingsway (0-0): Junior quarterback J.C. Collins and junior all-purpose Wade Inge Jr. are players to watch for the visiting Braves, who are looking to bounce back from a rare down season.

The host Dragons won four of their final five in 2016 and will try to keep it going behind senior quarterback Joel Scerbo in this clash of rivals from the old Tri-County Royal.

Pick: Williamstown, 20-13.