The 16 Best Movies and Television Shows About High School Football

At this point the dust has settled on a pretty subpar NFL season, and the NBA is heading into its All-Star break. You could use the pause in pro action to jump into the new go90 show QB1: Beyond the Lights.

The 10-part docuseries follows three of the nation's top high school quarterbacks throughout senior year, before they head off to NCAA Division I football programs. It's executive produced by Peter Berg, the same guy behind the Friday Night Lights TV series. There's precious few shows as beloved as the one about Coach Taylor and the Dillon Panthers (which was based on the 2004 film and a non-fiction book), but QB1 got us thinking about other high school football shows and films that are worth your time.

Here are 16 of the best, in no particular order. 

Year: 1999

Director: Brian Robbins

James Van Der Beek stepped away from peak-Dawson's Creek hysteria to star in this sometimes funny, sometimes intense movie about a complacent backup QB who gets thrown into the starting role after the star quarterback gets injured. This puts Jonathan "Mox" Moxom (better known as Dawson Leery) in direct conflict with his coach (Jon Voight) and girlfriend (fellow WB alum, Amy Smart). If for some reason you haven't seen Varsity Blues, part of a run of late '90s/early aughts coming-of-age films packed with heartthrobs and hotties, then make sure to pour some out for young Paul Walker.

Year: 1986

Director: David Seltzer

Lucas is a football movie in that '80s-Breakfast Club-coming-of-age kinda way. Before Charlie Sheen went all "tiger blood" on us, he was a football-playing bully named Cappie who had caught the eye of Lucas' dream girl, Maggie. She becomes a cheerleader to try to impress him. So what does scrawny brainiac Lucas do? He joins the football team, of course! You can imagine it doesn't go well, but it takes a heartwarming turn at the end. Lucas is also the screen debut of Winona Ryder, who's currently killin' it on Stranger Things.

Year: 1992

Director: Robert Mandel

School Ties is largely about anti-Semitism and a culture of intolerance at this prestigious prep school, making it a timely film to watch anyway. But football factors in here as David Greene (Brendan Fraser), a working-class Jewish quarterback from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is offered a senior-year scholarship to a posh New England academy. The school has asked him to be keep his religion under wraps, and once his secret leaks, even his teammates turn on him. The prejudice comes to a head in a cheating scandal involving David and his rival, played by a babyfaced Matt Damon, who maybe still has some things to learn in real life.

Year: 2000

Director: Boaz Yakin

We're not about to play with you. You know what this movie is about. It's Denzel and a bunch of scrubs, like some kids named Ryan Gosling and Hayden Panettierre. Denzel gave us endless quotes, such as, "You fumble the football, and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts, and then you will run a mile."

But, most important, the film delivers its feel-good message without being corny, which seems to be the hardest thing for most sports movies to pull off (and this is a Disney movie at that).

Year: 2009

Director: John Lee Hancock

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for her role in this film, which means it must be amazing, right? The Blind Side is the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless black teen who gets adopted by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock) and her husband. That changes the trajectory of Oher's life, and he goes on to become an All-American football player and first-round NFL Draft pick.

Year: 2004

Director: Peter Berg

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream was a prime work of documentary journalism. The 1990 book by H.G. Bissinger chronicled the story of the Permian High School Panthers from Odessa, Texas, as they made a run at the state championship. The 2004 film starring Billy Bob Thornton gave us a look at the various pressures the team faced on the field and off, and how much their victory would mean to the economically depressed town. It also made a household name of Boobie Miles.

Year: 2006

Director: Phil Joanou

This was one of The Rock's first dramatic acting roles. Also based on a true story, Dwayne Johnson stars as Sean Porter, a counselor at a juvenile detention center. He wants to give the kids a second chance and instill some discipline and self-esteem, so he starts a football team. The Kilpatrick Mustangs are good, but face opposition from high school coaches who don't want their kids playing criminals, as well as the pressures of the street life. It's football as therapy, and for many of the youths, it works.

Year: 2006

Director: Alex Kendrick

In six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never led the Shiloh Eagles to a winning season. Facing great personal and professional hardship, he cries out to God in desperation, and he challenges his players to believe God for higher purpose. As you may have guessed, they all step up and face their giants on and off the field. As you also may have guessed, Facing the Giants is about God. And football. 

Year:  2006

Director/Developed by: Peter Berg

The premise of this drama series is pretty similar to the film, except we move locations to the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family (in a star-making turn by Connie Britton as his wife and backbone, Tami) were a primary focus,. The show, which struggled in ratings but not critical acclaim, used its small-town backdrop to amplify contemporary issues, including racism, drugs, and lack of economic opportunities.

Year: 2014

Director: Thomas Carter

There seems to be a theme here, as this film is also an adaptation of a book based on a true story. When the Game Stands Tall follows the journey of legendary coach Bob Ladouceur, who led the De La Salle High School Spartans on a record-breaking winning streak. When the streak is broken and tragedy strikes, they recover by putting teamwork over personal glory.

Year: 2003

Director: Michael Tollin

Radio is based on a Sports Illustrated story about a high school football team in Anderson, South Carolina, that sort of adopted James "Radio" Kennedy, a mentally disabled man, as a team mascot and cheerleader. The movie focuses on Radio's (Cuba Gooding Jr.) first season with the team and the bond that forms between him and coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris). Radio didn't get the best reviews, but it still managed to find an audience and some notoriety.

Year: 2011

Director: Stephen K. Bannon

Undefeated is an Oscar-winning​ documentary about three student-athletes on the Manassas Tigers football team​​ in inner-city Memphis. They're attempting to have a winning season after years of losses, while facing unpredictable personal circumstances as well. Volunteer coach Bill Courtney fights hard to help the boys overcome their obstacles, but it's not easy. This doc offers a real look at what life can be like for underprivileged students. "You think football builds character," Courtney says. "It does not. Football reveals character."

Year: 1986

Director: Michael Ritchie

Wildcats is pretty different from any other film on this list, if for no reason than it's about a female football coach. Molly McGrath (Goldie Hawn) wants to follow in her dad's footsteps, so she quits her girls track coach job at affluent Prescot High to become the boys football coach at inner-city Central High. It's a tough sell, and to make matters worse, Molly's ex-husband is fighting her for custody of their kids. It sounds pretty weighty, but Wildcats is actually a comedy. After Molly earns the boys' respect, she gets them in shape to compete against Prescott High in the city championship. LL Cool J, Wesley Snipes, and Woody Harrelson appear as well. 

Year: 1983

Director: Michael Chapman

Tom Cruise! Craig T. Nelson, aka "Coach" from the TV show Coach! What more do you need? Stefan "Stef" Djordjevic (Cruise) just wants to use football to get to college and escape a working-class fate in his small Pennsylvania town. But when he clashes with coach Burt Nickerson (Nelson), he gets himself kicked off the team and faces retaliation that threatens to keep him stuck in place.

Year: 2013

Director: Doug Dearth

This is one of those "everything in the entire town is riding on this football game" kinda movies. That makes sense seeing that it's based in Canton, Ohio, and is loosely based on true events. A new coach comes in to help a struggling team, and goes about it in an unlikely way, of course. The quarterback falls in love with the rival quarterback's girlfriend. His father works for the rival QB's dad and is being sued by his employer, and their company is planning to move manufacturing to Mexico, which will eliminate jobs in the community. A charity football game between the rival teams unites all these moving parts in climactic fashion.

Year: 2008

Director: Fred Durst

Starring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, The Longshots is a family film based on Jasmine Plummer, who at age 11 became the first female to participate in the Pop Warner football tournament. Jasmine's father abandoned her when she was younger and her uncle (Ice Cube) pushes her to get into football, becoming a father figure in the process. And yes, it is directed by Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst.