Friday Night Lights
Nancy Roberts
English-Mr. Zornow

Introduction

On the way to a big high school football game, this quiet sleepy town is grief stricken by a horrible crime.

Thesis
On the way to a football game we are stopped by police officers, telling us of a horrible crime that had been committed by a respected member of our community, and there are possibilities of more crimes to be committed. Eventually we come closer together as a community and more aware of the next person.

Friday Night Lights
Situated between farm land and a river, Smoaks is much like any other small southern town. It was a Friday night. I accompanied my grandfather to a high school football game, as he drove the ten-mile journey to town. Country life offered little excitement, but on this particular day there was an uneasy feeling in the air, usually the town is full of excitement and team spirit. Banners covered shops and old buildings on main street supporting our local high school football team, but something felt empty. Maybe it was the lack of people gathering on the sidewalks. Having spent my entire life here, it was easy to notice change in the town’s mood.
I pondered the worried look on the few people that I did see on the streets. It seemed everyone was in a hurry, closing shops early. Most noticeable was the absence of children.

As my grandfather’s rusty old Chevy came to a stop at the town’s only traffic light, we were greeted by uniformed policemen, armed with guns and appearing much out of place in such mild surroundings. I was shocked to see several members of a SWAT team standing around. A young police officer walked quickly over to the truck and explained, almost apologetically, “Sorry sir, but we’ll have to search your vehicle. Just standard procedure.”

As the truck was being searched, I learned the reason for such drastic measures. The local quarterback for the high school football team, had been brutally murdered in front of his family. It was rumored that he was