The football season ended Saturday night for East Wake High School, the last local school still in the hunt for season-ending hardware.

But with the close of the fall sports season at local high schools, there is no break in the athletics action for fans of Knightdale and East Wake high schools.

Basketball, wrestling and swimming all start in earnest this week.

Knightdale's boys hoopsters took the hard court last night (Tuesday) for their regular season opener at home against Millbrook.

The Knights will be playing this season without two of their standouts from previous seasons.

Stan Okoye and Dijon Manns are both plying their trade on college hardcourts this season.

Meanwhile the East Wake wrestling team hits the mat tonight against East Chapel Hill to begin their season under new head coach and former East Wake wrestling standout Brian Staples.

Mat time is 7 p.m.

Knightdale grapplers got their season underway Monday at Panther Creek High School. They wrestle again Saturday at C.B. Aycock.

East Wake's girls basketball team hosts perennially strong Wake Forest-Rolesville in a cross-county tilt on Thursday night beginning at 7:30.

And area swimmers hit the pool Thursday in Smithfield as they christen a new facility in that town.

East Wake's boys basketball and Knightdale's girls basketball teams open the season this week on the road.

Junior varsity hoops play also commences this week.

If high school sports aren't your thing, local recreation programs are also hitting hardcourt with play in a number of leagues beginning soon after Thanksgiving.

For middle school sports fans, you'll have to wait on a bit longer, though.

Wendell Middle School finished its football season on Monday and fall sports practices at East Wake, Wendell and Zebulon middle schools get underway this week. Games begin in December.