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 65th football preview to be published.

Over more than six decades, some 1,400 teams and about 40,000 athletes have been featured.

The publication is the oldest and last of its kind in Iowa.

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