The undisputed king of sports and entertainment across small town America is Friday night football.

Nothing compares with high school football.

For many small towns it is the premier form of entertainment. While one would naturally expect parents and relatives to be in the stands, in most cases the entire town is apt to turn out. Whether Democrat or Republican, Independent or Progressive, nothing unifies small towns more than their loyalty to the hometown football team.

One of the best descriptions of the culture of small-town football is the book, “Friday Night Lights”, by H.C. Bissinger.

Bissinger spent a year in Odessa, Texas, following their team and gaining an understanding of this uniquely American sport. But there is really no substitute for the experience itself.

I was fortunate enough to play for a small-town team, the Hominy Bucks, in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the early 1970’s. What an adventure it turned out to be.

I happened to be attending boarding school in Rome, Italy for my sophomore year. That was when I began feeling the pull back to Oklahoma to play football where my father and grandfather had played.

My great-grandfather, U.S. Deputy Marshal Wiley G. Haines, had served in Indian and Oklahoma Territories for thirty years during the bad old days, so my roots ran deep in the Osage.

Academically, leaving boarding school probably wasn’t the smartest move, since most of my classmates were headed to Harvard and Yale.

Somehow, I convinced my parents that football was a good idea. Ivy League schools never meant anything to me, whereas football was huge.

My introduction to football provided a rude awakening my junior year with an ordeal called two-a-days, held during the brutal August heat.

Practices were held morning and evening, usually without water to “toughen us up.” If we had an especially good practice, we might be rewarded with a bag of ice.

Being a total novice at the game, I had a great deal to learn, but I had good teachers.

I worked my way up to playing on the defensive line at nose guard and tackle. But it wasn’t just the football, it was the whole cultural experience, including the pep rallies, dragging Main Street, wearing our jerseys to school on Fridays, and checking out the pretty cheerleaders and twirlers.

Our team was special, and we knew it. That first year we made an amazing run, which culminated in the state championship game against the Purcell Dragons.

I had no idea how out-matched we were, especially because of two all-stars, quarterback Joe McReynolds and lineman Mike Ellis.

Purcell was also a much bigger school, resulting in them being moved up a class to 2A the following year.

The big game took place on a cold December night. Purcell dominated and led 17-7 in the final quarter. And then one of those plays that embeds itself in your memory forever occurred.

And it wasn’t the interception I made. It was a disastrous play. I was lined up at defensive tackle on the right side, when to my disbelief I saw that my defensive end on the right had lined up on the wrong side with the other defensive end. I began frantically yelling and motioning for him to come back, but he failed to hear me.

But Purcell’s quarterback, Joe McReynolds, who was headed to the University of Oklahoma and one of the top backs in the entire state, did take notice.

Joe quickly called an audible, changing the play to an end sweep on my side. I knew that this was not going to end well.

First, I was knocked off my feet by Purcell’s offensive tackle, Mike Ellis, who was ranked as the top lineman in the state. Mike went on to play two seasons for Southern Methodist University. He passed away at age 57 in 2011.

Mike basically flattened me, and I came close to losing consciousness. As I tried to scramble to my feet, I was blocked by an end and a back as I caught sight of McReynolds scampering untouched into the end zone.

Purcell won the state championship, 24-7.

My annihilation was so complete that when the team watched the game film the following week, the head coach, Ron Harmon, just shook his head without comment when the play showing me getting triple-teamed came up.

Our team had to be content with being runner-up State champions in 1972.

Realistically, there was no way our little team could have defeated the likes of Joe McReynolds and Mike Ellis. We had to wait one year until we were crowned state champs in 1973, defeating Wynnewood 21-0.

By then, Joe had reported to the University of Oklahoma and Mike to Southern Methodist.

McReynolds was a remarkable athlete, son and friend.

Joe was remembered by friends and teammates for having an overwhelming will to succeed which always gave his team a chance to win at any sport in which he participated. The Purcell Hall of Fame page for Joe contains some 30 entries of accomplishments, truly a remarkable and still unsurpassed record.