It’s a crisp fall evening in north Alabama. Steve Moulton, who is entering his ninth season as the voice of Madison Academy Mustangs Football, is, as always, a few hours early. He hit the road even before the team that he’ll be commentating for boarded the bus. It takes time to set up his broadcasting equipment and connect to the station back home, especially almost 100 miles away from the school’s home field.
“There’s a certain level of lunacy to it all… but it’s a good lunacy,” says Moulton. He’s seemingly seen and done it all after 15 years of experience calling the sport. At one game many years ago, a rat snake greeted Moulton at his booth prior to kickoff, as if it were planning to attend the game and wanted a good seat.
Coach Derek Baudy glances at the side of the street as he stops at the traffic light. It’s a small town—one, maybe two red lights. That’s why he’s looking. The upcoming game will be played between schools, but it’s the towns around them that he uses to measure what to expect at the stadium.
The sign on the front door of the next storefront is really just a large sheet of paper taped to the glass, with big handwritten letters and a few red lines striking underneath as if to drive home the point: CLOSED – GONE TO GAME.
If you need something from this store, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow because tonight it's Friday Night Lights.
“It brings the whole community together,” says Baudy, an assistant coach at Randolph School. The excitement leading up to cross-town rivalries and events like homecoming is second to none, in his opinion. Every level of the town is impacted by these games, from grown alumni and administrators to students and their friends. Even the local businesses get in on the action. In most places, closing a place of business for a game would be unthinkable.
But on Fridays in the fall, northern Alabama is anything but normal.
Fans of all ages trickle their way into the stands. Both teams begin pregame warmups as Moulton runs through the rosters of both schools again, matching statures and numbers to names. The cheer squad chants. The band spills out a symphony. Soon it all starts.
Randolph quarterback William Mitchell says, "Friday night lights is when we get to show some of the hard work that we’ve put in." William continues, "I've learned you can’t dwell on mistakes you’ve made, you have to learn from them then move on."
William's mom Ashley will be witnessing both her sons on the field this year, "I love watching my boys play the sport they are so passionate about. Football is our main topic of conversation, always. My boys strive everyday to be better in the weight room and on and off the field. This year is very special because our boys are playing together for the Raiders." The Mitchell household is filled with football conversations, Ashley beams, "Friday night lights are highly anticipated in our home. It is what our boys prepare for months in advance. I love the energy and excitement on Garth. It creates an environment that the whole family can enjoy. Honestly, I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be than in the stands watching our boys play."
Younger brother Walker believes, "It is a time to show everyone what we are capable of and to show off our hard work and compete against other schools." He remembers, "I will never forget my first game as a freshman and realizing that I’m on the team I had been watching since I was a little kid."
Parent of former Huntsville High School player John Connelly who was recruited to be a long snapper at the University of Miami, Jon Murray remembers, "Friday Night Lights is everything - the excitement of the game, the band, the kids running around, it is always special." He recalls his son nicknamed "Little John" playing even in middle school, "In 8th grade at Huntsville Middle School they were undefeated and playing undefeated Chapman for the City Championship. Huntsville came back from a two touchdown deficit to win the championship at the very end. Those boys ended up winning 22 consecutive games, also going undefeated their freshman and sophomore years at Huntsville High School. They were what a team should be, role model players with great chemistry, and they were a lot of fun to watch too."
“The memories are the most important part,” adds Tina Jones, owner of Icon Athletics who has coached high school competitive cheerleading for over 30 years. “It’s the last chance for the kids to be kids” before they move on to college and adult life.
The cheer teams are an indispensable part of the Gameday experience, too. Most schools come together for raucous pep rallies ahead of Friday night’s game. “It’s a whole production,” says Jones.
Randolph cheer mom Bentley Hess whose daughter Hatten Hess is now a junior on the squad says, "As a parent I love watching the excitement on their faces. I love seeing them jump up and down when the team scores and all of that joy." Hess herself was a University of Alabama cheerleader so it is in their blood. "Running into Bryant-Denny Stadium was a larger than life experience due to the magnitude of people cheering on the team," Hess recalls. These Friday nights in the fall are precursors to weekends filled with football. "Friday nights lights creates an energetic pride that can mostly be felt not described. The excitement that builds throughout the day culminates when the team takes the field."
Buckhorn cheerleader Kylie Laine Peterson says, "Friday Night Lights is about community. It brings so many people out to support the team." Peterson adds, "One year we won the Cotton Classic! I will never forget it. It was the most fun game and my boyfriend also dressed up as Bucky to surprise me and ask me to HOCO. I will always remember that."
Coach Bob Godsey comes from a long line of high school football coaches. After the end of his playing career at Troy State, Godsey got his start on the sidelines at Decatur High School before taking the reins at Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama. He’s remained in north Alabama for the entirety of his coaching career, and in 2011, his Hartselle Tigers claimed the 5A state championship.
“I always felt that it was my calling to help the younger generation,” says Godsey. His father coached high school football, too, and encouraged Godsey to follow in his footsteps. “It was the family business.” Despite his successes, he says he never looked beyond where he was at. The importance of guiding players and helping them grow into young men has inspired him throughout his career.
Coach Greg Patterson not only coached high school football for over 30 years, he himself played in the 1960s, "I played in this city during the pinnacle of high school football in Huntsville. Twice we had a capacity crowd of over 10,000 fans. I knew coaching was what I wanted to do as an adult." Patterson coached at Huntsville High School because of its academic standards and well-rounded athletics. "When you are coaching football you are teaching life skills. Firstly, each player should learn to be a part of a team working towards a common goal. It is a challenge to make them accept the fact that everyone's role is not the same. Not everyone is a star, to win you have to play as a team." He continues, "Secondly, I wanted each player to grow into a man that is a good husband and father, to be a productive citizen in this community."
The game is a melting pot of experiences. While on the surface, every game on Friday night begins and ends with the players and coaches on the field, it’s what that game means to the whole community that really matters. From spending countless hours after school practicing to painstaking perfection, to the roar of the crowds, to the madness of closing up shop just to be a small part of the big game that night.
In a part of the country with no professional sports, the stakes are right down the road at the local high school. It’s an event that caters to the entire community, and to quote Coach Godsey, “Everybody is going to be there.”
That means friends. Family. Students. Administrators. That’s what makes Friday Night Lights special.
**
It’s overcast as Moulton steps onto the field, the grass freshly cut and painted. The bleachers, soon to be jam-packed full of screaming fans, are empty. Not even the coaches are out yet. The press box overlooking the field is small, as it typically is at high school football facilities. The door is propped open; the opposing school’s longtime PA announcer has already arrived. Moulton greets him and asks where he’ll sit. Silently, the announcer points a finger up above them.
He means the roof of the press box, of course.
Without a word of protest, that’s exactly what Moulton does. He borrows a ladder to get to his place. The roof is uneven and made of tin, calling for a precarious balancing act while preparing his equipment. His headset. The mixer. The antenna. Two crowd microphones to capture as much noise from the stands as he can.
It starts raining partway through the game, forcing Moulton to cover both himself and his equipment with an umbrella and continue as if nothing is amiss. The drizzle escalates to a downpour. The game keeps going, and Moulton keeps talking.
"But on Fridays in the fall, northern Alabama is anything but normal."