If you thought hosting a huge playoff game in another state was the only strange thing going on in Texas football stadium news this week, you're mistaken. Instead, an equally strange decision has been made about the site of one of the biggest games in the nation -- probably the biggest -- with No. 4 Euless Trinity (Texas) High facing off against No. 28 Coppell (Texas) High in a 12,600-seat stadium. Considering the fact that Trinity drew nearly 40,000 fans for an earlier playoff game at Cowboys Stadium, the capacity for its Coppell faceoff is a bit smaller than most expected.

How did two of the nation's best teams in the most football-mad state get cramped into a moderately sized high school stadium? Mostly for the same reasons that Longview and Mesquite Horn are going to play in Louisiana; the two teams couldn't agree on a site. Coppell put forward SMU's Gerald Ford Stadium, which seats nearly 40,000 fans when pushed to full capacity. Trinity balked at that suggestion, instead putting

Martinsburg (W. Va.) High School is in the midst of furious preparations for a Class AAA state title game scheduled for Saturday. They know that they're supposed to be facing off against South Charleston (W. Va.) High, but that's about all the know right now, after the championship game was delayed indefinitely because of a dispute over the eligibility of four South Charleston players who were involved in a fight earlier in the playoffs, and whether South Charleston should be forced to forfeit its semifinal victory over Brooke (W. Va.) High as a result.

According to the Associated Press, the dilemma stems from a midfield brawl that occurred in the final moments of South Charleston's quarterfinal win against Hurricane (W. Va.) High. The fight -- which you can see below -- quickly spiraled out of control into a benches-clearing brawl, and South Charleston players Tyler Harris, Pierria Henry, Emerson Gagnon and Trevand Reese were handed game ejection penalties, which usually carry with

There's a new single-season state-record receiver in California, but it took a very long video replay to figure it out.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High School senior receiver Richard Mullaney pulled in 122 passes during his team's 2010 campaign, instead of the 120 he was originally credited with. Those two receptions are crucial because the existing California single-season state record was 121, set by former Los Angeles Wilson wide receiver Steve Martinez.

So, how could statisticians from across the Los Angeles region have missed two of Mullaney's receptions? In part due to his coach's deception. It turns out that Mullaney was the receiving lynchpin on two hook-and-ladder plays earlier in the season. The receiver didn't receive credit for a reception on either one of those occasions.

[Rewind: Twin sister golfers set unusual record]

While the record isn't in Mullaney's hands yet, it seems very likely that Cal-Hi Sports, which organizes the state

In Septermber of 2009, Jared Coppola was diagnosed with significant paralysis after suffering a particularly brutal hit in a St. John's (Mass.) Prep football game. The injury has left Coppola in a wheelchair since that game, though it never shook his commitment to his school's football program.

On Thanksgiving, Coppola gave back by inspiring his teammates against the school's biggest rival, Xaverian Brothers (Mass.), when he stepped out of his wheelchair and reached midfield with the aid of a walker for the opening coin toss. Coppola called tails, won the toss, and eventually elected to defer.

According to the Boston Globe's Mike Carraggi, that tails call also later proved to be a key decision, as St. John's used the first possession of the second half to pad a narrow lead, eventually landing a 21-12 upset of the highly favored Hawks.

The victory earned more than just pride for St. John's Prep, too: The traditional face-off was also a winner-take-all game for the Catholic Conference

Well, it finally happened: Penalties for excessive celebration have officially jumped the shark. If the NFL is the No Fun League, it's still a celebratory paradise compared to the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association. That was made clear when a Tumwater (Wash.) High running back was flagged for excessive celebration after he pointed to the heavens following a touchdown run on Monday night.

The play, which you see above, happened in the second quarter of Tumwater's 63-27 victory against East Valley in the Washington 2A state semifinals. According to KOMO News, running back Ronnie Hastie scored on a 23-yard run and celebrated as he has following each of his touchdowns this year: by pointing to the heavens.

That's when the field judge tossed a penalty flag, telling the running back he was trying to draw attention to himself with the celebration.

"That wasn't the point [of the gesture], so I guess I was a little confused," Hastie told KOMO News. "I do that to give glory to my

Paul Sacco knows he's lucky to still be alive. The longtime St. Joseph (N.J.) High football coach walked into a hospital on Nov. 12 after suffering through a series of migraine headaches and high blood pressure. He didn't leave until 12 days later after undergoing two dangerous and intensive surgeries to relieve bleeding on his brain.

Amazingly, the coach wasted no time in getting back into action, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sacco began showing up on a limited basis during practices last week, then called all his team's offensive plays on the sidelines of St. Joseph's 20-8 victory against rival Hammonton (N.J.) High on Saturday.

"It's good to win the game, but I have bigger things that have happened recently," Sacco said. "I feel very grateful just to be here."

Sacco is a St. Joseph's alumnus himself, and has coached at the school for three decades. He never missed a single game until he was forced to sit out his team's 50-7 rout of St. Anthony's (N.J.) in the state's

High school athletic departments are always scrambling to improve their facilities to give their athletes an edge. Now a school in Texas may have given one of its programs the biggest edge possible: Magnolia (Texas) High has developed a golf practice range on its campus.

That's right, Magnolia High -- the current Class 4A girls golf runner-up -- has turned an enormous pasture behind the school's football field into the state's first high school golf practice facility. According to the Houston Chronicle, the "spacious" facility includes a monster 12,000-square-foot tee box, a chipping area some 50-100-yards long that includes bunkers and a chipping green and will even add a 3,500-square-foot putting green later this spring.

"This is something I have wanted to do for a long time," Magnolia golf coach Jim Bob Jackson told the Chronicle. "We finally started the process about nine or 10 months ago. We are excited about the opportunities it gives our high school kids, and now we can

On Saturday, Mesquite Horn (Texas) High and Longview (Texas) High will face off in one of the year's most anticipated rematches for the right to reach the Class 5A Division II state semifinals. Yet, despite all the technical aspects that make the game a fascinating battle, most of the attention so far is focused on the site of the game, which happens to be in another state.

That's right, a team from Mesquite, which is near Dallas, and a team from Longview in East Texas will play a regional final football playoff game in another state altogether. In this case, the matchup will take place in Shreveport, La., at Independence Stadium.

As reported by the Dallas Morning News, there are actually a host of reasons why the game will be played out of state. The two teams couldn't agree on a neutral site for the game in either Dallas -- which was considered too close to Mesquite's home turf -- or near Longview, which would have given the Lobos an obvious home-field advantage. Then, the one