Can you believe we’re already nearing the halfway point of the high school football season?

This is week five of 11 for the prep season, and our local teams have been hard at it on the gridiron. Whether you’ve been to a game or not, chances are good you have been impacted in some way by Friday night lights.

We still have six games of the regular season left, plus – hopefully – a few weeks of play-off games, and that means there’s still time for you to get in on an annual Franklin County Times tradition: our Football Picks contest.

We know many of you are already faithful weekly participants, but for those of you who aren’t, here’s the scoop.

Each week we put out a lineup of games for YOU to choose which teams will be the winners. Our lineup typically includes all Franklin County teams – barring a bye week or a Friday night game – plus a selection of area match-ups.

All you have to do is circle your choice or, if you’re taking advantage of our new online version of the contest form, select the circle next to your choice.

In case we need a tiebreaker, we also choose one game and ask you to predict the score.

Other than that, you jot down your name, phone number and address – and that’s it! Enter your submission for a chance to win $25.

Every week the contest form can be found on page B8 of the paper and on our website at www.franklincountytimes.com – just click the “Football Play and Win” button on the homepage.

It’s easy and fun, and you can play even if you can’t make it out to a football game – although you definitely should. What’s fall without football?

The contest is made possible in part by local sponsors, and we encourage you to support these businesses.