Fall in Iowa is the season of harvest, pumpkins, orange-colored leaves and, of course, football.

On cool Friday evenings and on Saturday afternoons, people from all across the Fort Dodge area gather every fall to watch their local heroes of the gridiron compete. They’ll scream and cheer for their favorite team, occasionally grumble about the referees and even embody the Iowa nice tradition by applauding fine play by the opponents.

We may have to wait a bit longer for the cool Friday evenings. We will not have to wait for football action, which begins tonight.

To get the inside scoop on the local football teams, please see the The Messenger’s annual football publication included with today’s edition of the newspaper. Inside it are stories and photos featuring the teams from Fort Dodge Senior High School, St. Edmond High School, and 16 other schools from throughout the area. It includes rosters, records, schedules and all of the other information area football fans will need to enjoy this year’s season.

This is the 64th year the football preview has been published.

During those 64 years, some 1,400 teams and about 40,000 athletes have been featured.

The publication is the second oldest of its kind in Iowa. In fact, it is one of only two football tabs still published in the state.

The Messenger’s football publication is the perfect guidebook for fans as the new season unfolds.