Thursday’s night’s action kicked off the Division III season, but Pat Coleman and I kicked off the D3football.com travel season with Friday night’s trek to Union N.J. to watch Kean and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (nee Kings Point).

After a competitive first half — partially due to some Week 1 sloppiness — we came away impressed with the Cougars, a team that returned 21 starters from a 7-4 team, and received considerable preseason notice from observers here in New Jersey and on D3football.com.

The 48-7 final didn’t completely reflect what kind of game it was, as Merchant Marine’s defense held the Cougars to field goals three times in the first half and went in at the break trailing 18-7. Kean was much more impressive in the second half, coming out with a dominating rushing attack and bowling through the middle of the Kings Point defense to blow the game open.

It being the opener for everyone on site, there were on-air glitches, there were photographers getting their bearings shooting game action for the first time since last year and there were people like me, fumbling for the correct terminology to describe wingback sweeps. And I wasn’t on air, I was just talking to Pat.

Still, rustiness aside, it was great to have football back again. Those of you who went to games Thursday night or are headed to them Saturday I’m sure feel the same way.

I’ll get into more in this week’s Around the Nation, but Kean’s got some beautiful new facilities to go with an unprecedented-for-them run of athletic success (the Cougars were baseball champions last year, something that’s very evident when you walk into Harwood Arena, adjacent to Kean Alumni Stadium).

The football season got off to a crazy start Thursday night, as Mississippi College rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points to beat rival Millsaps, a playoff team last season, 27-26 in the annual Backyard Brawl. The message boards have been buzzing since, and with nearly 150 teams getting underway Saturday, the buzz doesn’t figure to stop. Even if stunners don’t follow, a couple top 25 teams are sure to drop when Rowan plays at Christopher Newport and UW-La Crosse goes to Hardin-Simmons.

We’ll be back on the sidelines Saturday checking out No. 6 Wesley and another team that attracted a lot of preseason attention in North Carolina Wesleyan (20 returning starters). There was some serious discussion about splitting up and having me travel to Newport News for Captains-Profs, but we have opportunities to see those teams again soon, so I guess we’ll just have to hear about it from you guys.

What are the biggest stories and concerns on your minds on opening weekend?

It’s 1:00 on a Saturday, and one week from this moment, 28 Division III football games will kick off as Division III football begins in full force for 2007.

Keith McMillan and I plan to take in two games on opening weekend, heading up to Union, N.J., to see what all the fuss — some of which we’ve made — is about with Kean as the Cougars host Merchant Marine on Friday night. Saturday we plan to be in Dover., Del., where we hope to make a similar assessment of North Carolina Wesleyan, the chic pick to win the USA South, as the Battling Bishops play at Wesley.

It’s our eighth season here at D3football.com. Kickoff 2007 appears to be another success, thanks to the writers, the coaches they interviewed and the fans who have bought into our premium season preview package. We have some new people and partnerships to introduce to you through the coming week as we get set for the opening games on Thursday night. Meanwhile, I have a lot of last-minute setup and writing to do, so I’ll have to keep this short.

Keith and I have already booked trips to Linfield for the Hardin-Simmons game on Sept. 15 and a DuPage County doubleheader of sorts in the Chicago area on Oct. 13. We have plans for Keith’s first trip to see St. John’s play in Collegeville that are formalized in intent but not yet booked, and Keith is getting his first taste of Texas thanks to the McMurry Athletic Foundation on Oct. 6.

If you’re new to the site, welcome to D3football.com! Check out the front page news, the schools’ press releases, the notables (news that doesn’t quite make the front page), the message board and much more.

I wish Mike Flynt well, and hope he succeeds and enjoys his comeback with Sul Ross State. This blog post shouldn’t be considered a knock on him or the football team in any sense.

It’s a knock on the national media.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of Division III story we’ve come to expect the national media to glom onto.

A 59-year-old comes out to play his final year of eligibility and it grabs headlines. A basketball team scores 200 points. A 34-year-old plays quarterback. A basketball player refuses to face the flag for the national anthem.

These are all interesting stories, don’t get me wrong. But they have a way of becoming the face of Division III sports. And that just isn’t accurate.

Division III fans already know this. This is for those stumbling across the site who don’t know what D-III is all about.

Division III football players are legitimate players. It’s not a glorified club team. It’s not an extension of high school. They deserve better attention from the national media.

Thankfully, there are other stories that can be paid attention to. USA Today joined other media outlets with a story on St. Vincent reviving football. The Washington Post’s Sunday magazine recently published an extensive story on reviving intercollegiate football at Gallaudet. And there are many other stories, some of which we hope to write about this season, and others which we don’t even know about yet.

Those are the things Division III is really about.