Are you ready for some football?

If you thrilled to the 2013 high-school football campaign that saw the Lively Hawks and Lo-Ellen Park Knights fight it out for a city title, then you will be pleased to know that more of the same is in store this fall.

In fact, with the Hawks picking up their first varsity football championship banner in school history last year, the major change in 2014 might will come simply from the additional motivation that the Knights will have to turn the tables the second time around.

Following is a team by team look at the league, which kicks off play Sept. 9 with a double-header at James Jerome. The predicted final placement and record of each team is included in brackets:

Lo-Ellen Park Knights (1st – 6-0): Though the revenge factor is certainly key within the home of the Knights, their single biggest advantage is talent, plain and simple. No team in the city can match the depth of the Lo-Ellen crew, right across the field.

Returning offensive MVP Matt Glass and lineman of the year Sam Sedore are joined by 2013 all-stars Mike Favot (TE), Connor Mick (LB), Pierce Wallingford (LB), Adam Favot (QB) and lineman John Milne.

Throw Jr Gladiators defensive stalwart Graeme Stevens into the mix alongside the likes of Talon Farmer, Grant Marisotto, Dexter susteric, Andrew Denniston and Noah Skuce, and it becomes clear why Lo-Ellen is the consensus choice among fellow coaches.

Lively Hawks (2nd – 5-1): Perhaps we really did not yet learn our lesson about underestimating the ability of head coach Reg Bonin to draw on the collective willpower of the undermanned Lively crew.

Any team that can assemble the city's top group of receivers (Josh Walker, Colin Courchesne, J.J. Gaudin, Cameron Marshall, Cam McDermid, Ian Robbie) as targets for returning league MOP and gunslinger Hunter Holub is absolutely capable of defending their crown.

Though hit hard by key graduations, the return of running back Thomas Rideout, linemen John Guido and Andrew Hinds, linebackers Andy Andretta and Jesse Brear, as well as Ian White and Matt Barbeauin the secondary means that the cupboard in Lively is still a long way from bare.

Confederation Chargers (3rd – 5-1): The Chargers present the league's most intriguing formation, starting with the decision that head coach Brandon Dougan will have to make with quarterbacks Aaron Campbell and King Gil-Afau in the fold.

Both are more than capable to start at pivot, and are equally far too skilled not to use in another capacity, depending on Dougan's thought process. Austin Pharand, Brandon Dumouchel, Andrew McKinnon and Riley Barbeau will help spark the offence, but it is the linebacking corps of Nick Dombek, Brock Connor, Curtis Theobald and Brody Laberge that has football fans in Val Caron excited.

Lockerby Vikings (4th – 3-3): After going with a very young lineup in 2013, Vikings' coach Harley Laalo is expecting to reap some rewards this year. Lockerby will be more than capable of contending for first-round playoff home field advantage given a nucleous that features Ian Christakos, Corey Smith, Devin McCulloch, Miller Donnelly, Bailey Bowman and Russell Moulton.

St Benedict Bears (5th – 3-3): Josh Girolametto takes on a much larger role after a summer with the Gladiators, Chase Pressacco returns at quarterback and Connor Vande Weghe provides him with an inviting receiving option.

Beyond this trio and linemen Zach Corcoran and Ben Favot, there are a whole lot of good athletes who will have to get up to speed quickly if coach Labrosse is to work the same magic that he did during the summer with the Spartans.

Lasalle Lancers (6th – 2-4): The Lancers can work their way into the final playoff slot if they continue to receive exceptional performances on both sides of the ball from Joe Jelen and John Slawney, with Eric Fraser also back after missing last season to a shoulder injury.

Fraser and Slawney form a 1-2 punch on the line that can match up with the best that SDSSAA has to offer, but new QB Samson Recollet, tailback Luke Crepeau, receivers Logan Baronette-Finlan and Spencer Allen and safety Jordan Ross will need to step up big time for Lasalle to edge out St Charles on a tie-breaker.

St Charles College Cardinals (7th – 2-4): No team was hit harder by key graduations than the Cards, with MVP Matt Kuzenko heading up an impressive group of departees.

Ben Kaskiewicz steps in as quarterback, with Nathan Scruton as feature back behind him, while Andrew Kohut looks to build on the experience of a very strong season with the Jr Gladiators this summer.

Notre-Dame Alouettes (8th – 1-5): An extremely uncharacteristic ranking for CND, but the reality is that rookie head coach Bienvenu Muboyayi inherits a team that will be built around running back Mason Watt, all-star lineman Ntumba Malundu and quarterback Jordan Lacelle, who hopes to duplicate the success he enjoyed at the helm of the Jr Gladiators in the summer of 2012.

Bishop Carter Gators (9th – 0-6): The return of the football program at BAC carries only limited expectations for incoming head coach Matt Balloway, who will look to up-and-comers Quinn Blanchard, Justin Savarie, Brian Piché, Robbie Thibault and kicker Cameron Parsley to help building respectability in the Bayou.

Randy Pascal is the founder of SudburySports.com.