A small town where the local High School football team is the center of attention is the basis of this made for TV movie from the early 70's. Gary Busey is the teams star player who has been groomed and molded by his father played by Ben Johnson. The end result of his years of turning his son into the ultimate football player hopefully will be a scholarship to a big school followed by a pro career. Larry Hagman is the teams' coach who will essentially stop at nothing to have a winning season.
A number of topics are touched on in this film. A schools obsession with their sports programs. A parents obsession with their child achieving athletic stardom. The pressures of a high school athlete faced with having to win and be the best. Other films that had these same issues i.e. All The Right Moves, The Program were more in depth but this early 70's picture however does a pretty good job for a made for TV film. Hagmans performance gives the viewer a glimpse of what his famous "Dallas" character JR, which would emerge a few years later, would be like. Another sports film that has topics similar to this one is "Fear Strikes Out" with Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden