It is Friday night and everyone is at the game. Even people who don’t have kids in the game are there. High school football is a big deal. Guys that have been dreaming about playing on that field, in that stadium, in front of those people are finally getting to do it. In a lot of small towns, football seems to be one of the most important things there is. In small towns, it seems that everybody knows everybody. And people love football because “they identify their town with those schools and with those kids” Coach John Heavner said.

Going to the game is the thing to do. All the younger kids love hanging out with their friends, playing behind the end zones and idolizing their hometown stars on the field. People love to be a part of a successful program. When you can watch a game and cheer on your team that keeps winning, it really makes you feel like you’re a part of it.

Sometimes there isn’t a lot else going on, so people play football. People watch and cheer on those hometown players. Winning traditions get established, and then the young kids want to grow up and continue those traditions.

There are so many players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans that everyone can feel like they have a place. They can feel like they have a role that matters. And that’s what makes it so great. That’s why small towns love football.

It produces too. Players from these small towns often go and play crucial roles at the collegiate level. Southeastern football is impacted greatly by small town football players. Coach Heavner, the Recruiting Coordinator for the Savage Storm, said that “a little more than half” of the football team is made up of players from small town high schools, guys that everyone in that town knew. And now those players are here, continuing their careers and representing that small town of people back home.