WARNER ROBINS -- Previously confined to lesser venues such as the diamond or hardwood, the family feud that is Veterans vs. Warner Robins takes center stage Friday when the schools’ varsity football teams open the 2012 prep football season at McConnell-Talbert Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s a tremendous way to start the season,” Veterans head coach David Bruce said. “Big brother versus little brother.”

The game is the first between the two since Veterans opened in fall 2010. The Warhawks already play in the same region as Perry, but Bruce was looking to branch out.

“We felt like it was time to create a rivalry with the other teams within the county,” Bruce said. “Half our kids come from Warner Robins. The other half come from Houston County. We wanted to play Houston County, but we couldn’t work it out.”

Veterans also scheduled Northside for Sept. 6. The Warhawks will play both games as the visitor, although the schools plan to split gate receipts.

“It should be a game the community is interested in,” Warner Robins head coach Bryan Way said. “It should be a pretty good gate and will probably develop into a pretty good rivalry.”

Veterans “will be prepared,” he added. “They’ve got the same kind of players we’ve got.”

And a lot of the same kind of coaches. In addition to Bruce, Veterans coordinators Scott Lamb and Steve Ruzic coached for Way at Warner Robins.

PEACH COUNTY at PERRY

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

There are feuds, and then there is Peach County vs. Perry. The teams meet for the 37th time in a series that began 40 years ago come November. How passionate is this rivalry? Prior to integration, Fort Valley High School and Perry weren’t even allowed to play football because of bad blood that spilled over from heated basketball clashes.

The teams aren’t in the same region for the next two years, but both coaches wanted to maintain the integrity of the series. The kids are eager, as well.

“It’s a great game for us -- a big rivalry,” Perry center Matthew Long said. “They’re a good team, and that helps us get better. It’s good to play good teams before the region begins.”

NORTHSIDE at FLOWERY BRANCH

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

This matchup features a pair of pre-season top 10 teams, according to the Associated Press. The Eagles open 2012 as the No. 2 ranked team in Class AAAAA. Flowery Branch is a few slots down the ladder at No. 6.

Flowery Branch promoted defensive coordinator Chris Griffin to head coach when the former coach took a job elsewhere. Griffin told AccessNorthGa.com that while his personal perspective has changed, what the team does hasn’t.

“Football-wise there’s nothing drastic. We’re playing with same styles of offense and defense, and we’ve got a lot of kids back from last season,” Griffin told the website.

According to the article, Flowery Branch returns 15 starters from last year’s Class AAAA quarterfinalists. Like Northside, the Falcons were put out by eventual champion Tucker. Northside last lost an opener in 1996.

HOUSTON COUNTY at HARRIS COUNTY

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

This is a good opponent for the Bears, who’ll gain experience operating in a hostile environment. Three of Houston County’s most crucial region games come on the road.

Harris County has just seven winning seasons in more than a half century of varsity ball, but current head coach Tommy Parks owns two of them. Harris County was originally pegged to join Houston County, Northside and Warner Robins in Region 1-AAAA for the 2010 realignment, but the Tigers won an appeal and played out of Region 3-AAAA instead.

TATTNALL SQUARE ACADEMY at WESTFIELD

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

The Hornets have it backwards. For three years running, they’ve beaten Tattnall during the regular season only to be eliminated by the Trojans in the playoffs. The good news: should Westfield lose its opener, the players know from painful experience that the ultimate prize is still attainable.

-- Chris Deighan