The film starts with a court sentencing procedure due to crimes committed by various Carter High football team members. We subsequently learn about each of the player's background. One student transferred classes due to an incomplete grade, that could have caused his ineligibility to stay on the football team. In 1988, the Carter High Cowboys football team was involved in a public scandal while in the midst of a run in the University Interscholastic League 5A state playoffs, which included a semifinal victory over Odessa, Texas Permian High School that would become a central event in the book (and subsequent movie and television treatments) ''Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream''.