Back Porch High School

KILLEEN, Tex. -- The scene here at Leo Buckley Stadium late Friday night was reminiscent of most high school football venues across the country, as the Shoemaker Grey Wolves dealt with the reality their season was over.

Tears were shed, hugs were exchanged between players, coaches and players, coaches and coaches. Then the coaches thanked the seniors for great effort.

But this was no ordinary season-finale ritual for the Grey Wolves. Just over 24 hours earlier, many of them weren't sure if their parents or loved ones were injured -- or worse, killed -- in the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, the nation's largest military base.

James LaShoto, a high school football player from Arlington Catholic High School near Boston, is facing criminal charges for assault and battery after allegedly head-butting an opponent -- 17-year-old Daniel Curtin (pictured right) -- from Abington High School in a game on Sept. 19, according to The Boston Globe.

The paper reports that Curtin suffered two lacerations and a large bump on his head, and had to miss 10 days of football because of concussion concerns. LaShoto was suspended for two games by his own school.

Every high school has a rivalry. Every rivalry has bitter moments in history. In Jefferson County La., this is one of those moments.

Twenty-five Male High school students -- including six football players -- were suspended Friday for their involvement in a school prank against Manual High that involved six toilets, a lot of waste and many cans of spray paint.

Gross you say? Well, the prank was in response to one supposedly pulled by Manual students who dumped a truckload of manure in the parking lot and spray-painted curse words on the football field.

Let's just say the manure really hit the fan for the 25 suspended Male students, but what about those responsible for the manure pile in the Male parking lot? So far, they have not been able to prove who was responsible.

Two-point conversions are a staple of high school football, mostly because at that level the quarterback or running back are more reliable options than the kicker.

So it's not altogether noteworthy that Central High School went for two after scoring a touchdown. What separates this particular attempt from any other I've ever seeen is that quarterback Will Briscoe went with the behind-the-back pass into the end zone. And he completed it for the converstion.

Video evidence after the jump.

Mark McDonagh, a senior at Riverside-Brookfield High School in suburban Chicago, is likely to do something on Friday that no one, at any level of organized football, has ever done: Catch his 145th pass in a season.

With four seconds remaining in Friday's game between Greenville High and Oil City High in Pennsylvania, Greenville had the ball and faced second-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Greenville decided to try to score a touchdown rather than kick a field goal, but certainly they knew that the worst-case scenario would be a game headed to overtime, and not a loss. Right?

Wrong.

Last week, a Vermont high school football team won on a last-second field-goal attempt, even though the kick came up short. (It's a long story.)

Another week, another high school football game decided by a last-second field-goal attempt. This time, Westland John Glenn had a kicked block by Plymouth as time expired and that was that. Except it wasn't. The John Glenn holder picked up the ball and, after a few confusing seconds, ran into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Moving pictures madness after the jump.

Rivalries between high schools can manifest itself in many ways. For example, kidnapped mascots (usually animals but not mandatory) and strategically placed stink bombs hearken back to the Leave it to Beaver good ol' days.

Something that you might not have considered, however: selling T-shirts that depict equine-on-human-on-equine coitus. Which is exactly what some enterprising students at Houston's Memorial High School decided to do in advance of their game against Stratford. That's the entrepreneurial spirit upon which this country was built.

Frankly, I'm surprised we don't hear about this every weekend: some drunk, frustrated father humping a crappy 9-to-5 and living his life vicariously through his son, storms the field after the game to confront the officials and administer a much needed beatdown. That's how he rationalizes it, anyway.

(I'd suggest watching the whole thing, but if you're only interested in the awkward confrontation, skip ahead to the 1:45 mark.)

With five seconds remaining in a high school game in Hillsboro, Oregon, Friday night, Glencoe High School led Hillsboro High School 21-20. Hillsboro had the ball at the 39-yard line and time for one play. It also had Dominique Mims at quarterback and Colt Lyerla lined up along the right sideline. That's all it would need.