MISSING PREP FOOTBALL? LOOK AT THESE
High school football is on hiatus until January and perhaps beyond.
Stadiums across San Diego County, some of which still would have been busy this weekend with regional playoff games, are still dark as we battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
But if you crave the excitement of Friday night lights, miss the action, there are options ... films.
There are more than two dozen films focusing on high school football.
I don’t count “The Blind Side” or “Wildcats” with Goldie Hawn as high school football movies. Not bad for entertainment, but they miss the mark for me.
So here are my Top 10, along with a few honorable mentions, as well as a Bottom 5.
Honestly, the Top 3 are interchangeable:
BEST 1. “Friday Night Lights” (2004)
H.G. Bissinger wrote a tremendous book on the 1988 season of Odessa Permian, a Texas high school powerhouse. I loved the book and got a great feel for Texas football after watching Dallas Carter and Midland Lee in a 5A state semifinal game in the ’70s. I’ve also seen prep games in Houston, El Paso and Arlington, seen the pageantry, the love of the game. The film takes some creative differences from the book, but none hurt the movie. One scene that is true to form is a three-way coin f lip between Permian, Midland Lee and Abilene Cooper with the odd-man out of the playoffs. The f lip was at 2 a.m. at a truck stop. It was the highestrated TV show in Texas that year. Skip Baldwin, who later worked in local television in San Diego, was the host of that show and said it was one of the great thrills of his career. Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw and Connie Britton were the big-name stars of the movie that spawned a great TV series.
2. “When the Game Stands Tall” (2014)
Concord De La Salle put together a 151-game winning streak, a run that included wins over Rancho Buena Vista and La Costa Canyon. The film loosely follows De La Salle’s 13-0, 2002 national championship season. The focus is on Spartans coach Bob Ladouceur and his relationships with his team and family. Some sequences are out of order, including an historic game against Long Beach Poly, but don’t detract from a well-made film. Adapted from the book of the same name by Neil Hayes, Jim Caviezel, Michael Chiklis and Laura Dern are the stars.
3. “Remember the Titans” (2000)
Based on a true story, this is a great film. Like the two movies previously mentioned, not everything in the film is in the correct order. They call it creative license. A player from the 1971 T.C. Williams High team said the film is “very loosely based” on the true story. Still, it was a great story of two schools in Alexandria, Va. — one predominantly Black, one predominantly White — that consolidate to form one team during a racially charged time in our nation. The football scenes are a little overdone, and that detracts a little. Great music from the period. Denzel Washington and Will Patton play the coaches in the film. Hayden Panettiere plays Patton’s young daughter.
4. “Born to Lead: The Sal Aunese Story” (2017)
This is a little bit of a stretch because it’s not a true high school football film. It is, however, the life story of one of our own — Vista High football great Sal Aunese. Aunese was a star quarterback for the Panthers, who went on to play at Colorado. He leads the downtrodden Buffaloes to national prominence, then is struck down in his prime by stomach cancer. The football clips — from high school and college — are sensational. The interviews with Junior Seau and former Vista coach Dick Haines are better.
5. “All the Right Moves” (1983)
Not based on a true story, but a truly good movie. Tom Cruise stars as Stefan Djordjevic, an undersized Ampipe High linebacker who runs afoul of his coach — played by Craig T. Nelson — and is kicked off the team, killing his college hopes. There is some strong language and nudity, but this is a gritty, well-done film. Lea Thompson and Christopher Penn also star.
6. “Varsity Blues” (1999)
Another movie not based on a true story. Jon Voight plays the win-at-all-cost coach of the West Canaan Coyotes. His star quarterback gets hurt, and the coach must turn to the backup, a player he despises. The football scenes
aren’t very good, the language is a little rough and there is some nudity. Good twist at the end. Overall, very watchable.
7. “Radio” (2003)
Based on a true story, Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. star in a film about an intellectually disabled man who is taken in by the T.C. Hanna High School team in Anderson, S.C. Panned by the critics, it’s not a great film, but it speaks to the human spirit and kindness.
8. “Gridiron Gang” (2006)
Loosely based on a true story about Camp Kilpatrick, a detention center in the Los Angeles area. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as the coach who transforms a rag-tag, intercity group — with its trials — into a team. The film hits close to home after watching Camp Kilpatrick play Santa Fe Christian several years ago.
9. “Go Tigers!” (2001)
A full-length documentary based on the rivalry between Ohio powerhouses Massillon and Canton McKinley. The film follows Massillon’s 1999 regular season. Because it’s a documentary, the football scenes are great. I was fortunate enough to see these teams play each other in 1972 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Doesn’t get much better ... even in Texas.
10. “Undefeated” (2011)
Hard to put this at No. 10 because it was an Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature. The film follows the fortunes of Manassas High, an innercity school from North Memphis, Tenn., that hadn’t won a playoff game in 110 years and had gone 14 years without a win. The language is a little crude, but it’s a tear jerker.
HONORABLE MENTION “23 Blast” (2013)
A local star back goes blind after a bout with bacterial meningitis. He returns as the team’s center, helping it to the state playoffs.
“The Last Whistle” (2019)
After a brutal punishment practice, the team’s star running back dies. The coach (played by Brad Leland) takes the blame and the story follows his struggles to cope with the loss. College coach Les Miles has a small role.
WORST FIVE 1. “Johnny Be Good” (1988)
Not only a bad football movie, one of the worst movies ever. Stupid, sophomoric and cliché ridden. It’s the football version of “Porky’s” based on the star
quarterback being recruited by big-time colleges.
2. “Facing the Giants” (2006)
A faith-based film that is way too preachy as a downtrodden team wins the state championship on a 51-yard field by a secondstring kicker who had never kicked a field goal longer than 29 yards.
3. “Possums” (1998)
Mac Davis stars as the radio announcer of the Nowata High Possums, a team that hasn’t scored a TD in 13 years. The town votes to disband the team, but Davis broadcasts fictitious games the next season with the Possums winning the state championship. A ridiculous premise.
4. “Hometown Legend” (2002)
A hokey story of a coach whose son dies on the field in the state championship game. After 10 straight losing seasons, the coach comes out of retirement as the school in Athens, Ala., is ticketed to be closed.
5. “They Call Me Sirr” (2001)
A Showtime production based on the career of running back Sirr Parker, who played at Locke High in South L.A., Texas A&M and later banged around the NFL and CFL. Not a bad film, just not a very good one.