Texas High School Football: More Than the Game celebrates high school football and the profound role it plays in contemporary Texas culture as well as Texas?s mythology. In this compelling volume by writer Joe Nick Patoski, the epic history of the sport is illustrated through an all-star cast of legendary players and coaches, cheerleaders and drill teams, marching bands and twirlers, mascots and die-hard fanatics. Filled with the visual pomp and spectacle of the autumn ritual, Texas High School Football digs beyond the stats to look deeper into the sport and explore its significance as the common denominator that connects individuals and creates community throughout the state, from tiny Six Man rural schools to 5A suburban giants. Using the uniforms, equipment, and ephemera of the game, from Drew Brees?s football jersey to a vintage photograph of Don Meredith escorting his high school homecoming queen, Patoski poignantly weaves an engaging visual chronicle of the pageantry engrained in the souls of Texans in every corner of the state. A cavalcade of helmets, championship rings, spirit ribbons, and homecoming mums contribute to this powerful story of high school football in Texas, where supporting the local team is a passion and a responsibility. Iconic high school football images by photographers Geoff Winningham, Laura Wilson, Jeff Wilson, and Bill Kennedy are an extra bonus in this extravagantly illustrated high school football compendium. Texas High School Football: More Than the Game is a true game changer?you?ll never look at high school football the same way again.