The stands are packed. The boys are painted up. The girls have spirit ribbons in their hair. The proud parents have pins and shirts emblazoned with Vikings, Falcons, War Eagles and Red Elephants.

It's finally football Friday night.

Gainesville High School is traveling to Buford to take on the Wolves. Flowery Branch High School is opening up at home against Madison County.

Johnson High's Knights are looking to beat Jackson County at home, and there's a cross-county matchup between East Hall and West Hall high schools.

"I would think there's a lot of people interested to see this game," Gainesville High Head Football Coach Bruce Miller said of his competition. "I think there'll be a great turnout from Gainesville folks."

There won't be a pep rally at Gainesville because of the game's time change, but the team has its traditional pre-game dinner.

Though Red Elephant fans will be taking a mini road trip to watch the game, Hall County Sheriff's Office deputies are prepared for all the home game traffic tonight.

Col. Jeff Strickland, chief deputy of the Hall County Sheriff's Office, warned fans to be ready to wait 30 minutes to an hour for post-game traffic to subside.

He said each school will have resource officers in charge of security and directing traffic during the games. Since it's a home game, Flowery Branch High students will have a chance to cheer on all their fall athletes at the season's first pep rally.

"Our cheerleaders will usually have some kind of spirit competition, just a very traditional type of pep rally," Principal Mark Coleman said.

The first game will be a special one for the Falcons, Coleman said, because it’s the first home game, and it’s also Junior Falcons Night, when all the athletes from the high school’s feeder schools are recognized.

East Hall High football players get special treats from the cheerleading squad today as well.

"One thing the girls do is we make every single player a pep tag, which is a piece of paper decorated with a design and glitter and paint," cheerleading coach Elizabeth Withrow said. "They'll also be getting a biscuit to get them energized for the game."

Jazmin Bailey, 16, a junior cheerleader at East Hall High, said tonight's game is a big one that the squad has been preparing for.

"We've been practicing our stunts and cheers," she said. "We're expecting a big turnout."

Sha'Nequa Mitchell, 15, a sophomore cheerleader at East Hall High, said the squad also painted its banners for the Vikings to run through at the start of the game.

"We do things to get everybody ready and pumped," she said. "We have this. We're gonna win this game."