University of Texas football coach Mack Brown is old school. When he arrived on the Austin campus, he didn't let players wear earrings on road trips or hats on planes. And he most certainly never offered a scholarship to eighth-graders. Until now.

Following the lead of both LSU and Alabama, Brown became the first Longhorns coach to recruit a middle school kid when he offered Dylan Moses a football scholarship on Wednesday, according to the Dallas Morning News (h/t Big Lead).

The Louisiana State University Lab (Baton Rouge, La.) School eighth-grader is a 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back and defensive back whose maturity goes well beyond his 14 years. He swats away his gridiron peers like King Kong treats planes.

The Texas bid, which Moses announced on Twitter this week, joins Ole Miss, Florida UCLA, Florida State and Nebraska in addition to offers from Nick Saban and Les Miles.

When Moses attended LSU football camps this past summer, coaches clocked his 40-yard dash time at 4.46 seconds and measured his vertical leap at 34 inches, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. And he held his own opposite "some of the best wide receivers in the area," his father Edward Moses Jr. told the paper.

Saban expressed to Dylan that “he didn’t usually offer scholarships to young athletes but that he feels he has the potential to be the No. 1 athlete in the nation,” the father added.

North Ridgeville (Ohio) Lake Ridge Academy is a small school, so it doesn’t expect to land the kind of headlines that come to other prep programs in sports-mad Northeastern Ohio. Beyond that, it particularly doesn’t expect to earn national plaudits for the achievement of a 14-year-old freshman.

Nico Ortiz, second from right in back row, threw a perfect game in his first-ever start — Lake Ridge Academy

Remarkably, here we are, extolling the virtues of Lake Academy baseball player Nico Ortiz who put forth a performance that he is unlikely to top no matter how much longer he continues to play on the diamond.

As reported by the North Coast (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, Ortiz used his first ever varsity baseball start as a pitcher to twirl a perfect game. More impressive still was just how long it had been since Ortiz threw a pitch: Seven years.

“I haven’t pitched since I played in the [North Ridgeville] city league when I was 7,” Ortiz told the Chronicle Telegram. “I haven’t really practiced since then. My coach said he wanted to give me a chance on the mound. I never expected to throw a perfect game.

“It just kind of happened.”

The team it happened to had nothing on Ortiz. Lake Ridge rolled to a 20-0, mercy rule victory against Lawrence (Ohio) High, with Ortiz shutting down Lawrence on only two pitches; a fastball and a change-up. The freshman is so new to pitching that he hasn’t even toyed with a curveball yet, but his control was so spot-on against Lawrence that he retired a total of 15 batters on just 62 pitches, an average of just more than 4 per batter.

For Ortiz, the rise to pitching prominence has truly come out of center field, where he tends to split his time when he isn’t on the mound. The teen has also started at shortstop, and entered the season anticipating a few relief pitching opportunities when his teammates struggled.

It’s become fairly commonplace for a team to bring its managers on to the field on Senior Day, yet things were a bit different for Roslyn Heights (N.Y.) Roslyn High’s girls lacrosse team and longtime team manager Katherine Zisis, a disabled lacrosse manager who not only played in her team’s final home game, she started in it and even scored a goal.

Katherine Zisis celebrates her introduction before Senior Night at Roslyn High — Facebook.com:Newsday

As first reported by Newsday, and later covered by USA Today, among other sources, Zisis finally got a chance to compete in her first game on her squad’s senior night. Yet Zisis couldn’t just suit up for a game and play, because she suffers from a rare condition known as pulmonary stenosis, which limits the amount of blood that flows to her heart.

The decreased blood flow alone forced Zisis to undergo multiple operations, all of which required significant post-procedural physical and operational therapy.

Put those factors together, and Zisis is just about the least likely student to be safe competing on the lacrosse field. But in 2013, Zisis is also the only senior member of the Roslyn lacrosse team, so after some soul searching and gentle prodding, it was determined that Zisis would enter the game and play just a couple of minutes.

The senior, whose condition categorizes her as a learning disabled student, worked out for more than two weeks with the varsity team in practices, getting herself ready for Senior Night. Then, when the night came, Zisis didn’t just play, she was in the starting lineup.

That’s when the magic really unfolded. With just a couple minutes on the field to make an impact, Zisis didn’t waste any time. She registered a shot on goal with her first ever touch of the ball, scooping up a loose ball just more than 8 meters from goal and sending an effort at cage that instead sailed wide.

Her second attempt would be more accurate. Again scooping up a loose ball after a dropped pass within 10 meters of the cage, Zisis swiveled and scored, sending the Roslyn sideline into hysterics and Zisis into dreamland, where she remained until being carried off the field following the 13-8 Roslyn victory over Wheatland (N.Y.) High.

Joshua Melvin looks sufficiently surprised for being booked for Silly String — Jupiter Police

It all started as a lighthearted prank at a powder puff football game, but ended with a 20-year-old in jail for Silly String.

As farcical as that may sound, it accurately describes what occurred near Palm Beach, Fla. on Tuesday, when a recent high school graduate was arrested for aggravated battery after he allegedly sprayed a Jupiter (Fla.) High staff member in the face with Silly String.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Joshua Melvin was one of four men who raided an annual Jupiter powder puff football game -- competed between girls rather than guys, without pads – and rushed onto the field wearing a ski mask and wielding a can of Silly String. Because a Jupiter staff member couldn’t tell what was inside the aerosol can that Melvin was carrying, he or she chased after the man to try and tackle him. When that staff member got close, he or she got a face full of Silly String.

There was no word of injury to the Jupiter staff member. In fact, if he or she was affected by the Silly String, that might be a notable first for the classic novelty product. In case anyone doesn't realize what Silly String looks and acts like when shot out of a can, you can check it out in the video directly below.

According to the Post, Melvin and his cohorts, who were quick enough to jump a nearby fence and escape, were only attempting to spray coaches and players in an act of lighthearted mischief.

No matter how many saves come out of the bullpen for the South Sacramento (Calif.) Valley High baseball team in 2013, none can compare to the one that the team pulled off Wednesday afternoon after a team practice.

Members of the Valley High baseball team, which saved a girl trapped under a car — KCRA screenshot

As first reported by Sacramento TV news outlets KXTV and NBC affiliate KCRA, members of the Valley baseball team sprung into action after seeing a mother accidentally run over her own daughter in the parking lot. The mother was dropping off her daughter for an after school program when she accidentally hit the car in front of her, panicked and threw the auto into reverse. The rapid shift pinned her daughter under the car and rendered her immobile, all while putting her health in peril should the mother try and drive forward again.

As soon as the players heard screams for help they raced over, with a total of 16 varsity and junior varsity members of the Valley squad combining to lift the car up while Valley coach James Millholland pulled the trapped girl out from under the car.

"We all just ran out there as a team," varsity coach James Millholland told KCRA. "No one was saying much, and then the guys got around the car and just lifted it up. There was very little talking."

Both Sacramento-based television networks cited reports from the hospital saying that the girl had not suffered any significant injuries, with the players’ quick thinking saving the day, and her long term health.

"I think we did a good job. It kind of bothered me throughout school today," Valley player Jack Danho told KXTX. "It was still in my head. I was traumatized, but our quick thinking saved her life."

Kountze cheerleaders paint a Biblical 'run through' sign — Associated Press

In September, it took a legal injunction to ensure that a group of high school cheerleaders could continue to display religious quotes on motivational signs that their school’s football team would run through.

The story was borne out of the piety of a region, in this case a section of Texas that finds itself firmly in the state’s bible belt. The cheerleaders at Kountze (Texas) High held up signs emblazoned with Biblical verse for the hometown Tigers to run through. After their right to do so was challenged, the cheerleaders rapidly filed suit to gain a temporary injunction against the state.

That injunction was granted, and has since set the stage for a variety of Kountze activities that use cheerleader-made signs. Now, the cheerleaders can display their Biblical signs without concern, after a ruling by Texas District Judge Steven Thomas found that the cheerleaders should be able to use whatever text they like on pregame signs.

The case for the cheerleaders was argued by a Plano, Texas-based nonprofit law firm called the Liberty Institute, though the firm was hardly alone; popular local celebrities such as Texas governor Rick Perry and attorney general Greg Abbott have also been outspoken supporters of the cheerleaders’ case.

Still, as noted by the Online Sports Guys blog, the Kountze case is hardly the first to deal with freedom of religious expression related to a pregame routine at a prep sporting event. In fact, there have been two relatively similar scenarios in the state of Georgia in recent years alone, in the form of both Ridgeland (Ga.) High and Haralson County (Ga.) High's disputes with the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

While the ruling appears to have cleared the way for future use of Biblical verse in high school sports, some civil rights groups have already spoken out to insist that they will continue to fight against the use of any religious text in or connected with a scholastic event.

"High school football games are a quintessential school event and cheerleaders are a key part of that event," Martin B. Cominsky, Southwest Regional Director of the Anti Defamation League told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK. "This decision flies in the face of clear U.S. Supreme Court and other rulings. The religious banners blatantly convey a message that the school supports and promotes one religion over any other. Not only is that inappropriate, the court should have found it unconstitutional."

On Saturday, the life of longtime Utah soccer referee Ricardo Portillo came to a tragically premature end, days after he was violently and cowardly punched in the head by a goaltender for a team in a game he was officiating. Now, the teen responsible for the referee’s death may find himself put behind bars for a number of years in connection with one shameful weak-minded moment.

Family and friends mourn Ricardo Portillo at his funeral Wednesday — Associated Press

As reported by the Associated Press and a variety of other Utah news outlets, the unnamed high school student who attacked Portillo will be charged with homicide by assault. The court-appointed prosecutor in the case, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, also insisted that the state will attempt to try the attacker as an adult. The teen will turn 18 in October, giving the court reasonable grounds to seek to charge him as an adult.

Should the 17-year-old be tried as an adult he would face a penalty of up to five years in prison if convicted.

While the charges facing the teen are significant, they could have been much worse as well. After much analysis, the court determined that they could not accurately expect to gain a conviction if they charged the goalie with murder or manslaughter.

Perhaps it was simply good fate, or his abundance of faith. Maybe it was his incredible fitness. Whatever was the deciding factor, one of Florida’s most talented three sport athletes just feels lucky to still be alive.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Orlando (Fla.) Christian Prep three-sport (football-basketball-volleyball) star Mike Walmer somehow survived a one-car accident en route to school on Friday morning in which he was ejected from his car and traveled 65 feet in the air. More remarkable still, the starter on a recent Class 2A boys basketball state finalist, eventually emerged from the accident without any serious injuries whatsoever, and was back in school on Monday.

"While I was in midair, I asked God to please help me before I hit the ground," Walmer told the Sentinel. "I was bracing myself for the fall. And I felt like God just grabbed me and laid me down to the ground as soft as he could."

As MaxPreps noted, Walmer’s indestructibility in the wreck was particularly ironic given the fact that he was known as a hard-nosed grinder on the basketball floor. Walmer didn’t suffer a single broken bone while being flung 65 feet through the air and landing on the pavement, but did break his nose during basketball season.

Walmer, a senior who contributed to OCP’s varsity basketball and volleyball teams for all four seasons, was well enough after the weekend to attend an awards banquet at which he was named the school’s student athlete of the year. While that physical condition may have helped him bounce back quicker, his basketball coach made it clear that it took something more to keep him safe during his terrifying accident.