5 high school football games in the Dickson County area fans need to attend this year.

The regular season of high school football in Tennessee is slowly creeping up, which means there will be plentiful amounts of tailgating, face painting, and sign making in the near future for home games in the Dickson County area.

This year features several games at both Dickson County and Creek Wood with lots of intrigue. Here are five can’t-miss games to circle on the calendar:

Dickson County vs. Creek Wood, Aug. 18: The ninth annual Week Zero matchup always brings hype and intrigue to the DIckson County area, with year-long bragging rights on the line. Creek Wood won last year’s contest 30-26, but Dickson County holds a 6-2 overall record against the Red Hawks.

Greenbrier vs. Creek Wood, Sept. 1: This will be the first Region 5-4A game at Red Hawk stadium, as well as the first region game for the Red Hawks under new Creek Wood coach Houston Thiel.

Centennial vs. Dickson County, Sept. 15: Former Region 7-5A foes square off after both being moved up to Class 6A and into Region 6-6A. Centennial won the Region 7-5A championship last year, going unbeaten in the region.

Independence vs. Dickson County, Oct. 12: The Eagles have been one of Middle Tennessee’s most successful programs over the past couple of years, reaching the Class 5A state championship game the past two seasons and winning it in 2015.They'll travel to Dickson to face the Cougars for the first time since 2014.

Springfield vs. Creek Wood, Oct. 27: It’s early, but this game could be a deciding factor with who walks away with the Region 5-4A crown. The Yellow Jackets may have finished fourth in their respective region last year, but it was capped off with a deep playoff run, reaching the Class 4A quarterfinal.

Reach Andy Simmons by email jasimmons@gannett.com or on Twitter @AndyDHTN