Tropical Storm Lee was a gullywasher, dousing the area with a needed deluge.

But the best part of it was what followed. The cool, crisp air banished the 90-degree temperatures to the history books.

The leaves will turn, the birds will fly south and all will be right with the world.

Football season is three weeks old, but Friday night will finally feel like football with temperatures in the 60s at kickoff.

While the weather is cooling off, the action will be heating up as all four county teams face daunting challenges.

Porters Chapel will receive its sternest test at Newton Academy. The two teams have marked the date in red ink in a game that likely will decide the district title.

PCA has been mistake-prone at times, but expect the Eagles to bring their best stuff on a bus ride on I-20. The Eagles (3-0) found their identity as a power-I formation team with Kawayne Gaston shouldering the load. They will depend on him heavily against Newton.

St. Aloysius faces a tough challenge with Salem coming to town. Salem derailed the Mt. Olive machine, dropping the Pirates to 0-3 last week. The Flashes are 0-3 and definitely don’t want to fall to 0-2 in division play. A loss here and St. Al’s playoff hopes will dim considerably. There were positives in the loss to Hinds AHS, but the young Flashes will need to put together a complete game to pull an upset on Salem.

Vicksburg will face another tough Tylertown team, undefeated after destroying Franklin County 47-0. But the Gators (1-1) have not only shaken off a disheartening loss to Brandon in the Red Carpet Bowl, they managed to beat a solid Richwood team in the fourth quarter, a place the Gators have wilted in the past few years.

Vicksburg quarterback Cameron Cooksey found another big-time target, Clyde Kendrick. Coupled with Lamar Anthony, the Gators have the ability to make teams pay for doubling up on A.J. Stamps, who had another standout game at Richwood as Cooksey threw five TD tosses, the most since Jordan Henry did it for Vicksburg in 2002.

Warren Central’s tough non-division schedule continues as the Vikings travel to Natchez to take on the Bulldogs. Natchez is undefeated and riding high after blasting cross-river rival Ferriday (La.) 19-0 on Friday. The Vikings (0-3) are limping after taking a thrashing at Hattiesburg and are looking for a spark to resuscitate a flagging season.

Friday should be the best football yet of a young season. It’s just awesome to finally have the appropriate weather as a backdrop.

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Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. You can follow him on Twitter at vpsportseditor. He can be reached at 601-636-4545, ext. 142 or at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.