DEARBORN — Summer is drawing to a close, and while it’s a sad time for many, others can’t help but be excited by the return of football season.

High school football season in Dearborn has always taken on a special significance, especially in regards to the timeless rivalry between cross-town programs Dearborn and Dearborn Fordson.

This year, Dearborn Edsel Ford will join the fun as they enter the new Western Wayne Athletic Conference’s Blue Division along with Romulus and Belleville with hopes of competing with Dearborn and Dearborn Fordson for the league title.

Here is a preview of the three WWAC Blue Division schools with the 2009 football season just a week away.

Dearborn Fordson Tractors

Few schools in metro Detroit love their football more than Dearborn Fordson, which is why last year’s State Semi-final playoff loss to Lake Orion was so hard to take.

The Tractors’ proud program was just one game away from making it to Ford Field downtown and playing for the title, a run that will nonetheless go down as an amazing accomplishment after an undefeated regular season.

The Tractors will try to take things a couple steps further in 2009, and head coach Fouad (Walker) Zaban is pleased with their progress going into the year.

“The kids did a pretty good job in the weight room this off-season and we worked extremely hard during conditioning,” he said.

The Tractors will welcome Romulus, Belleville, and Dearborn Edsel Ford into the new Western Wayne Athletic Conference’s Blue Division as opponents along with Dearborn in 2009.

“It’s different, not having Monroe and Allen Park in our league but we still have Dearborn and picked up Edsel which are two good games,” he said. “We also play Ann Arbor Pioneer and Saline which are two real good teams.”

Fordson has easily one of the most talented teams in the division with plenty of senior leadership. Zaban believes that the keys to a successful season are simple.

“Leadership, focus, and believing (in ourselves are the keys). All of that silly stuff, and we must play great in all areas of the game,” he said.

Scheme-wise, the Tractors figure to stick with the running game as their usual method of attack while continuing to work in more spread offense elements. Fordson’s most dangerous weapon might be Baquer Sayed, the 6′ 2″ senior wide receiver who has received scholarship offers from the likes of Ohio and Ball State with bigger schools continuing to keep an eye on him. Returning quarterback Ali Baidoun will be charged with getting him the ball again this year and he should be ready to take on a larger role in 2009. Offensive guard Hassan Houssaiky was also cited as a leader by Zaban.

“As football evolves we will try to evolve as well,” said Zaban. “Does that mean that we will scrap everything we’ve done in the past, no. Will we try some new stuff? Absolutely.”

Zaban believes that his offense has room to grow each year.

“Ultimately we try to adjust to what our personnel is best suited for, I feel that is the most important thing.”

The defense should be a typical hard-hitting Fordson unit as well despite some key personnel losses.

All things considered, Fordson should be a force and the playoffs are a strong possibility yet again. Motivation shouldn’t be much of a problem, either.

Zaban said his staff doesn’t put in much extra preparation if any for the big city championship game with the Dearborn Pioneers, but he acknowledges the effect playing cross-town rivals has on his team.

“In all honesty we do not stress that game until the week of that game,” he said. “Having said that, our kids do work extra hard in preparing themselves during the off-season because we play Dearborn and Edsel, just like last year when we played Monroe and Allen Park.”

Dearborn Fordson opens their season on August 28 at home against Detroit Finnerty.

Dearborn Pioneers

For the time being, it seems Dearborn Fordson has gained an upper hand on the Dearborn Pioneers as the top football program in the city.

But Dearborn knows it has the talent to challenge the Tractors for a division title, and heading into the 2009 football season, the Pioneers’ focus is squarely on the things they can control after a successful 2008 that ended with a close second-round playoff loss to Southfield.

“The kids are working hard and competing to earn positions; they’re just excited to play football and excited that the season is here,” said Dearborn Head Coach Dave Mifsud.

Mifsud said “I don’t think they’re too concerned with the new league (the WWAC Blue Division), they just want to play.”

Mifsud is a little surprised that the Pioneers will have five non-league games this year and said he’ll miss the old Mega Red Division, but he’s also looking forward to what could be another successful season and another chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

Much like Edsel Ford and Fordson, Dearborn will try to play power football on both sides of the ball with a few wrinkles thrown in to keep defenses off-balance.

Defensive coordinator Jamie Grignon is back with Dearborn after two years off to watch his son play college football and former Bloomfield Hills Andover Head Coach Scott Sugg is also on board.

“Two great additions and great coaches,” Mifsud said about the new faces. “Otherwise, just basic football. We have to block and tackle.”

Mifsud will have plenty of experienced players to carry out those orders on the field this year, with senior linebacker Nores Fradi leading the way on defense. Fradi is a returning All-State player who has already accepted a scholarship to Central Michigan next year.

Fradi is a three-year starter as is his linebacking corps mate Nabih Saad. Their chemistry and toughness along with standout senior defensive tackles makes the Pioneers hard to run on.

Other standouts include defensive back/wide receiver Mustapha Haidar, defensive end/guard Amer Srour, and junior guard Feerooz Yacoobi, Jr., all seniors. Mifsud also has high hopes for junior ex-defensive tackle Gerald Moore, who will make the switch to defensive end this year.

With all that beef on defense, the Pioneers figure to at least hang around in every game this year, and their September 18 matchup with Dearborn Fordson at home figures to be a slugfest of epic proportions. It also might decide the division title.

Mifsud knows how important the game is, but the Pioneers have three big games before then starting with their opener at home on August 28 against Dearborn Heights Robichaud, and he also knows how hard it can be to keep the focus on the task at hand at times.

“We just have to take it one game at a time,” said Mifsud when asked about whether or not he puts extra emphasis on the Fordson game.

Spoken like a true coach.

Dearborn Edsel Ford Thunderbirds

For Dearborn and Dearborn Fordson, the switch to the new Western Wayne Athletic Conference’s Blue Division isn’t necessarily an earth-shattering move.

The level of competition has stayed the same or perhaps gotten a little bit easier in light of those schools not having to play strong teams like Monroe or Allen Park anymore.

But for the Dearborn Edsel Ford Thunderbirds, the move to the new division is a chance to start new rivalries and to prove they belong among the city’s elite.

Edsel Ford had one of their best seasons ever in 2008 as they went 8-2 but fell short in the playoffs to Wyandotte, failing to make it to the second round for the first time in their history according to Head Coach Mark Tyler.

But 2009 might be the year that streak comes to an end as Edsel Ford brings back a talented core that could challenge for the division title.

“We’ve had a pretty solid off-season, the kids have been lifting and working hard all summer long,” Tyler said. “We have a senior-heavy team and we should have good leadership this year; we’re excited to have the opportunity to play our cross-town rivals again.”

Edsel Ford returns four all-conference players from a year ago: senior lineman (both ways) Bruce Tebelman, senior running back/defensive back Kevin King, who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns on more than seven yards a carry, senior middle linebacker/tight end Justin Koehn, and senior running back/linebacker Michael McCaleff.

They prefer good old-fashioned smash-mouth football from a two-back, two-tight end set.

“Our strength is our offensive line and running game,” Tyler said. “We average maybe three passes a game, although we’d like to do it more often.”

Other expected stars include junior center and two-year starter Yousef Bawayeh and senior quarterback Nolan Siemaz, who stands about 5’10” and is more of a runner than a thrower.

Tyler has seen the team’s depth of quality athletes grow a tremendous amount since he took over the program in 2003 and began its turnaround.

“We’re similar to the other two schools Dearborn and Fordson now, we have some outstanding athletes but they might have more kids to choose from,” Tyler said.

“But we have outstanding coaches who have been here since 2003 adding to the continuity of the program. It’s been an experience for the coaches and the kids and definitely for the community.”

Tyler said the community has appreciated the team’s efforts.

“We’ve built up a sense of community spirit and they’ve been proud of us. The goal is to develop young men of character and turning out good people, without that, are we really doing much for these kids?”

The Thunderbirds open their season Friday, August 28 on the road against Redford Union at 7 p.m.