TIFTON — Strike up the bands and gas up the cars for the motorcades. The high school football regular season is upon us again.

“It feels like a long time,” said second-year head coach Tucker Pruitt. Yet at the same time, he said, it feels like practice began just yesterday.

Fitzgerald is eager to get back out on the field and will do so Friday in Alma, where the ‘Canes meet the Bacon County Red Raiders in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

The Purple Hurricane not only made state for the 18th straight year, but they nearly upset a highly regarded Toombs County team in the first round of the playoffs. On the other hand, Fitzgerald went 4-7, its losing season since 1999.

Fortunately, that record is now only history and Friday night means everyone begins anew.

“Everybody’s 0-0,” said Pruitt.

Pruitt said he had not seen much film on Bacon, but expected both sides to still be working out their identities. The Red Raiders came within a hair of making state a year ago, dropping a mini-game to Swainsboro, 6-0.

A look through Bacon’s statistics on MaxPreps indicate the squad’s offense was mostly run-based in 2017. They were slated to play Atkinson County last week in their season warm-up.

Fitzgerald, on the other hand, scrimmaged Coffee Aug. 3.

Pruitt said the Hurricane’s scrimmage was a bit earlier in order to rest any potential injuries. Fortunately, Fitzgerald left Douglas relatively unscathed.

Fitzgerald has not completely settled on a lineup yet. Pruitt said he had fielded multiple questions since the 2017 ended about who the starting quarterback will be this year. Two quarterbacks split snaps during the spring game against Tift County and the two, Justin Reliford and Kody Krause, are still strong contenders now.

Each has been impressive, considering neither had experience in the role. While a major role on a football team, the Hurricane hope to relieve some pressure via strong running backs.

“Their job is to drive the bus,” said Pruitt of his quarterbacks.

Among a stable of experienced running backs are Quantavious Pugh, Mario Clark and Ethan Gordon. Injuries meant that Pugh, currently a junior, and Clark, a sophomore, saw plenty of playing time last year. They reflect the rest of the Fitzgerald lineup — “We do have a lot of kids back,” said Pruitt. “They’re not quite as young and green.”

Friday will be the first meeting between Bacon and Fitzgerald since 2005. They have played 15 times, Fitzgerald winning 14 of them. After this encounter, the Hurricane moves back into more familiar territory, hosting Irwin County next week.