Happy Friday everyone! The NFL season kicked off last night with a surprisingly close game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles managed to emerge with a 24-20 win, in what was a good, but strange game.

It all started when Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected from the game before a single play had been run from the line of scrimmage. Following the opening kickoff return by the Cowboys, there was a brief delay in the game because of an injured Eagles player. During that interlude, Carter walked up to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and after an exchange of words, spit on the front of his jersey, prompting his ejection from the game. In the blink of an eye, the Eagles were without their most valuable defensive player.

I’m a longtime NFL fan, but that was a new one for me. And the story arguable became even stranger as the night progressed. Videos eventually emerged online showing Prescott spit in the direction of Carter (but ostensibly at the ground) before Carter returned fire. Great work all around, guys!

The game had an especially late finish because of a lightning delay during the third quarter as a storm cell swept over the Philadelphia region. Many Flathead Valley prep football fans are unfortunately very familiar with lightning delays after the way the state high school football season opened up last weekend.

Storms caused the cancellation of both Whitefish and Flathead High’s season openers. Cole Havens over at Outlaw Country reports that Havre was leading Whitefish 21-7 with 3:30 to go in the first half when the weather took a turn. The game was labeled a no contest, leaving the coveted Railroad Trophy still in the hands of the Bulldogs by default.

Flathead High also had its game ended early due to weather. It was new Flathead High head coach Mac Roche’s first game leading the Braves. The visiting Great Falls Bison were up 21-7 at halftime when the game was called.

The three Flathead Valley teams that started their seasons on the road all faced teams that made the playoffs last year. The results were mixed. The Glacier Wolfpack traveled to Billings and pulled out a 14-10 win over a tough, talented Billings West team. The Bigfork Vikings fell to Frenchtown 28-7, and the Columbia Falls Wildcats lost 17-13 to Lewistown.

Here’s what’s on tap for local teams starting tonight:

6 p.m.: Bozeman at Glacier

7 p.m.: Flathead at Billings Senior

7 p.m.: Columbia Falls at Frenchtown

7 p.m.: Hamilton at Whitefish

7 p.m.: Corvallis at Bigfork

The Griz and Bobcats also play this weekend. The Bobcats are coming off a humbling 59-13 loss to the University of Oregon. The Cats will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Saturday at 6 p.m. The Griz will open up their season hosting the Central Washington Wildcats on Saturday, also at 6 p.m. Leading the Griz will be a quartet of team captains that includes redshirt junior wide receiver and Glacier High grad Drew Deck, and graduate student offensive lineman and Whitefish grad Dillon Botner.

I think that’s plenty of football news and notes for now. Let’s get into some news. I’m Mike Kordenbrock, bringing you the Daily Roundup …