AUBURN - Labor Day weekend will mark the start of the 45th season of Pop Warner football in Auburn, an important milestone and one that many in the organization are incredibly proud of.

“It is really a thrill for us,” said Tony Tabone, the league vice president and football coordinator. “We've been here in Auburn and part of the Central New York Conference for 45 years now and we are still going strong. I think that shows that we must be doing something right that we are still here after all these years.”

The season saw its unofficial kickoff Friday evening with the annual Pop Warner Pep Rally.

The rally is an evening of fun and games and food and entertainment.

“There were some shorts practices,” Tabone said. “But then this gives the kids a chance to blow off some steam and have some fun.”

The pep rally serves many purposes.

“We have a lot of games,” said Cherie Cooper, a board member in charge of public relations. “The dunking booth where the coaches get in, it gives the players a chance to get revenge for those extra hills they had to run. But we have food and a DJ and all our Auburn Indians wearables for sale and we also have a food drive for St. Alphonsus, so there is a lot going on. And of course we all want to get the moral going for the season.”

Players started reporting to practice in July for competitive level play, while Flag and Mitey Mites started in August for the instructional level.

Tabone said this season those teams are comprised of some 175 players, making eight teams.

This number is a little lower than last season, but Tabone said that is part of the cycle of many youth sports.

“We are down two teams,” Tabone said. “But overall the conference on a whole is down a little. There are so many more options for kids now, with fall baseball and so many other sports. But it really does go in cycles, we've had this happen before and then we'll be back up again. But I think we have a really good turn out this year and really good teams and that we are going to have a really good season.”

The girls of the Indians cheerleading squads have been practicing hard too, working all summer to prepare for the season with around 120 girls comprising six squads.

“The competitive level started practicing July 30,” Cooper said. “They got together two to three times a week. The younger girls, this gave them time to learn the cheers and for the older girls they could work on new routines and work on their skills to get ready for the competitions in Syracuse.”

The pep rally gave all these girls the first chance this season to show off their routines.

“I think for the younger girls it is a lot of fun,” Cooper said. “This gives them the chance to put on their uniforms and shake their pom-poms and get out there in front of everyone and see what it is going to feel like during a game. But I think it is a lot of fun for all the girls after all the time they've put in practicing.”

While the pep rally is certainly a good time, it is really just the tip of the iceberg. August 25 and 26 will mark the eighth annual Kickoff Classic with Central Square.

“We've had some scrimmages with coaches on the field and everything,” Tabone said. “These games won't count in the standings, but they are real-game situations, no coaches on the field, penalties called, everything. I think this is a good way for the kids to get used to what a real game is going to feel like before the season really gets started.”

The official season will get underway Labor Day weekend with a seven-game regular season schedule set to carry on from there.

After many years of not having a permanent concession stand and rest room facility, the Indians are getting closer and closer to having a permanent facility completed at the field.

Through the efforts of numerous community members and BOCES, the new facility is close to completion.

“Tim Chalker has been really helpful in getting that together,” Tabone said. “He's got a lot of people to help out and donate. So many people have been instrumental in helping us get this facility together and right now we are extremely close to having it complete. This year we'll definitely have it open for rest rooms and concessions.”

This new facility is just the most recent in steps towards the program's future in Auburn; a future Tabone believes will be very bright.

“There were a lot of people before me and there will be a lot of people after me,” Tabone said. “There have been a lot of people that have helped make this program as successful as it has been. Forty-five years is a big milestone and I think we are going to keep up the tradition we have established here in this community.”