Fullback Don Billingsley struggles with his ball handling and is abused by his alcoholic father, Charles, who won a state championship with Permian.

Gaines intends to bench Miles in the waning minutes but keeps him in after third-stringer Chris Comer misplaces his helmet, making him unprepared to go in.

Despite their small size, Permian's defense proves to be stout under the leadership of safety Brian Chavez and linebacker Ivory Christian, and the Panthers embark on a five-game winning streak.

Miles boldly denies the severity of his knee injury and lies to Gaines so he can suit up again, with his uncle and legal guardian L.V.

The loss puts Permian in a three-way tie for first place with Lee and Abilene Cooper, and a coin toss is held to determine which two teams make the playoffs.

However, Permian's defense improves its tackling, and the offense pushes through despite injuries as the Panthers score 14 unanswered points to cut the deficit to six.

With two seconds left, Winchell desperately runs the ball toward the goal line but is stopped just short, and Carter wins the championship.

Afterward, Gaines removes the outgoing seniors from his depth chart, and it is revealed that Winchell, Billingsley, Miles, and Chavez went on to have successful lives after their football careers ended, with only Christian earning a Division I scholarship.

The consensus reads: "An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.

All of the bad things that have resulted from the characters' mindless devotion to gridiron glory--the abusive father who stays drunk to forget that the peak of his life came at 17; the barely educated Boobie's having nothing left in his life when a knee injury ends his dream of playing pro -- are converted into obstacles that test the mettle of the young warriors”.

[7] Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film for skirting the issue of race relations in Odessa, which Bissinger had gone in depth about in his book.

[9] While the residents of Odessa held a negative reception of the book due to its account of race relations in the Texas city, they eagerly anticipated the release of the film.