AHOSKIE – Let the games begin!

High school football is already underway in the Roanoke-Chowan area while college teams and the pros are in the final preparations to kick-off their respective seasons.

With all that in mind, the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald and Gates County Index is launching “Red Zone” – a weekly football contest. The first installment of this 12-week contest can be found inside today’s edition (in the Sports section).

Weekly winners will be awarded tickets to East Carolina University home football games, beginning with the Pirates vs. Memphis contest on Sept. 11 in Greenville.

Throughout the contest, weekly listings will include all local high school games and selected college contests. Once the NFL regular season gets underway, the contest will list those match-ups as well.

From those listings, contestants will select the team they predict will win. The person with the most correct predictions each week will win the ECU tickets. In the event of a tie, one game will be pre-selected as a tiebreaker from where contestants will enter their guess of the combined score of the two teams in that game.

Contestants are required to submit an official entry blank available in each Tuesday edition of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald and Wednesday edition of the Gates County Index.

Games pieces are available weekly at the main office of the News-Herald and Index, located at the corner of Main Street and Catherine Creek Road in Ahoskie during regular business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. M-F). No purchase is necessary. One game piece will be provided per request.

No photo copies of newspaper entry blanks or the game piece will be accepted.

The contest is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Roanoke-Chowan Publications LLC employees and their immediate families are ineligible.

Weekly entries can be dropped off at the Ahoskie office by 5 p.m. each Friday or mailed to: Football Contest, Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, P.O. Box 1325, Ahoskie, NC 27910. Mailed entries must be postmarked on Fridays.