Because it’s never too early to talk football — and the recent comfortable July weather puts you in the mood anyway — away we go.

I was looking over the 2009 high school schedules for area teams and there are some interesting games developing.

Excluding the typical rivalries, of which there are many, here’s a rundown of 10 games you may want to circle on the calendar.

—Raceland at Boyd County, Aug. 22 — Both teams are coming off big seasons that included district championships and expectations are high again. These teams haven’t met in more than 10 years, dating back to 1996 when the Rams won 42-26 for a third consecutive win in the series. Another note on this one: Besides being the season opener for both teams, it will be played on a Saturday.

—Aug. 28, Boyd County at Belfry — This will be the first of back-to-back weeks that Class 3A powerhouse Belfry will be playing host to an area school. The Pirates take on Ashland on Sept. 4 in another dandy matchup.

—Sept. 4, Portsmouth Notre Dame at Greenup County — Most years, this one would hardly be called must-see. But Notre Dame’s coach is Mike Sammons, who was cut loose as the Musketeers’ coach last year. New Musketeer coach Mike Copley will be coming off consecutive games against rivals Ashland and Russell (this one on Aug. 29, also on a Saturday).

—Sept. 4, Bell County at Johnson Central — King of the Mountains? This one could well tell the tale.

—Sept. 4, Russell at Ironton — It’s been a long time since these cross-river rivals have met. The last time was 1992 when Ironton won 36-0 for its 11th consecutive victory over the Red Devils. Ironton has won 19 of the last 20 in the series with Russell’s only victory coming in 1977 by a score of 23-14.

—Sept. 18, Waverly at Ashland — The Tomcats have an interesting non-district schedule, including a game against this Ohio school that’s typically pretty good. Ashland follows that up with a game against Ironton, an Ohio team it hasn’t beaten since 1990.

—Sept. 25, Rowan County at Boyd County — If early indications are correct, this one could go a long way toward determining a district champion.

—Oct. 9, Ashland at Johnson Central — These teams are becoming big rivals who play for high stakes in the district. It was moved up the schedule a little bit after being the last game for the past several years.

—Oct. 16, Raceland at Lexington Christian Academy — The Rams will be thinking back to last year’s Class A playoffs. It’ll at least set the seeding for the postseason.

—Oct. 30, Johnson Central at Belfry — It’s another King of the Mountains game for the Golden Eagles, who may still be smarting from last year’s loss to the Pirates.

Of course, there are many rival games that weren’t mentioned here. But hopefully this whets your appetite a little for what promises to be an exciting high school season.

It’s less than 50 days until the first kickoff.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.