Prep football finally kicks off Friday in south county.

If you’re like me, you thought this day might never come. Among the local squads, the game of the night is tough to choice this week.

If forced to pick, you’d probably want to get an early look at the senior-laden Lind-bergh Flyers at Parkway West on Friday night, while Affton is the only choice when they take on Principia on Saturday.

If the Flyers don’t interest you, both Mehl-ville (host Parkway Central) and Oakville (host Parkway North) should be involved in exciting games.

At Oakville, you will see two teams that will not receive a lot of preseason notice but are going to be a big surprise. Both the Tigers and North’s Vikings are going to turn some heads in 2003.

For those of you must have some football action today — Sept. 4 — check out Riverview at St. Louis University High at 6 p.m.

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Note: For the 2003 season, our Bum-Book rankings will only rank those teams that play in the Call’s circulation area.

Preseason look at the local big five:

1) Lindbergh (0-0) — They Flyers have so much talent back it’s difficult not to presume they will make another run at a trip to the Class 6 Show-Me-Bowl. Mak-ing it through unbeaten will be tough, but the Flyers are as good as any team out there. Next up: At Parkway West at 7 p.m. Friday.

2) Mehlville (0-0) — The Panthers handled Lindbergh in their first matchup of 2002, then fell just short in an exciting state semifinal. With quarterback Ronald Rob-erts back for his junior season, the Panthers are good enough to assume they can at the very least split their season series — presuming a playoff matchup — with Lind-bergh. Next up: Play host to Parkway Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

3) Vianney (0-0) — Some very talented players are on the offensive side of the ball, but the cupboard is somewhat bare after that. Still, this is the best team in the Gateway Athletic Conference and a threat to make noise in the Class 5 playoffs. Next up: At Fox at 7 p.m. Friday.

4) Oakville (0-0) — This season could end up very unfair for Oakville, which has the potential to win quite a few games, but is stuck in a district with both Parkway South and Lindbergh. Still, the Tigers have a lot of talent and will frustrate a lot of their seemingly superior opponents. Next up: Play host to Parkway North at 7 p.m. Fri-day.

5) Affton (0-0) — Being the only team among the five squads BumBook will cover that plays in Class 4, it’s not likely this squad would be able to be competitive over the long haul playing in either Class 5 or 6, but that doesn’t mean the Cougars are not going to be tough. Affton will be a force in Class 4 all season long. Next up: At Principia at 1 p.m. Saturday.