With the weather forecast looking more like fall and less like mid-summer, it is time to turn another page on our calendars to October and get ready for the stretch run of the high school sports season.

Next week, golf and soccer will kick off the Michigan High School Athletic Association postseason with regional and district competition.

In soccer, it is a new era with seeding for the top two teams. I have been clamoring for seeding for more than two decades because I was sick and tired of the top two teams, especially at the district level, meeting in the first game of the tournament.

The winner of that game usually goes unchallenged through the rest of the district. If it happens to be the home team that gets eliminated in that opening game, you kiss your attendance goodbye. So, seeding to me only made sense that that the best teams have a chance to get to the finals.

In looking at the Division 3 district being hosted by Coloma, I was confused that South Haven got the top seed over Dowagiac, which is the second seed. But according to Chieftain coach Mike Williams, Dowagiac turns out to be the top seed in this instance.

Apparently, in a seven-team district, the top seed gets a bye. In an eight-team district like Coloma’s, nobody gets a bye. So, in essence, Dowagiac is the top seed.

If you are confused by all that, do not feel bad. It makes no sense to me, and it seems like the MHSAA is making things more difficult than they needs to be. Using a computer and a formula seems unnecessary, but I will trust the state knows what it is doing and this will all play out correctly.

Soccer is the first sport to get district seeding. During the winter sports, boys and girls basketball districts will also be seeded. Wrestling has been seeding at the quarterfinal level with success. My hope here is that it too will seed at the district level.

I cannot wait for the postseason to begin. I also cannot wait for the weather to cool down so we can start wearing long-sleeve shirts or sweatshirts and light coats.

A nip in the air with the leaves starting to change color on the trees signals that it is time to get serious in the high school sports world. It is time to wrap up division and conference championships and get ready to start the postseason.

Get ready. It is time to have some real fun.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com