It has been said that in the South there are only three seasons &8212; football season, recruiting season and spring practice.

That deep love of football associated with this region is certainly evident in the Miss-Lou, where seven local high schools hit the field each Friday night in search of gridiron glory.

But educational purists will tell you school is about academics. And with anywhere from $15,000 to $57,000 &8212; depending on the size of the school &8212; going to the program annually, many think it&8217;s worth at least a double take in the bookkeeping department.

Football does make money, but doesn&8217;t even come close to paying for itself at most schools, administrators said.

But life isn&8217;t all about money and learning doesn&8217;t just come from books, those closest to the program said.

Intangible benefits for players

The sport has always been one that can draw a variety of emotions from coaches, administrators and the student body, but most associated with the game said they feel it had only helped players and students.

&8220;Football probably does more for a kid than anything I can think of,&8221; said ACCS head football coach Bobby Marks, who has coached for all or part of six decades.

&8220;I know that grades come first, but we&8217;re talking about what football does. It gives those kids something to talk about for the rest of their lives. I think it helps a kid get his life straight if he&8217;s got the right kind of coach.&8221;

Schools don&8217;t have across the board academic requirements for playing football, but many monitor grades in the classroom in some way.

&8220;Our kids have to be passing at the end of the nine weeks or they&8217;re kicked off the football team,&8221; Marks said. &8220;It encourages kids to keep their grades up.&8221;

Hot practices, tough competitors and emotional ups and downs teach football players more than a book can, coaches and administrators said.

Natchez High head coach Lance Reed said he had seen the lives of players turned around &8220;all the time&8221; during his decade in the business.

&8220;Many kids I&8217;ve dealt with were getting into trouble before they got into football,&8221; he said. &8220;It helps with everything. It helps them stay busy, it sets up opportunities and you&8217;re part of a team and a program where you&8217;re held accountable on the field and in the classroom.&8221;

And coaches understand their role in the big picture, Ferriday High coach James McFarland said. They aren&8217;t just coaches, they are teachers.

&8220;We try to coach good players, but we are also about trying to turn them into good men as well,&8221; McFarland said.

Administrators know the value of a good coach, Cathedral Principal Pat Sanguinetti said, and a good one makes the cost of football a non-factor.

&8220;When you have extremely good coaches that have good morals, that have a love for children, they teach them more than in the classroom setting. There&8217;s no question about that,&8221; Sanguinetti said.

Everyone else

At most area schools the percentage of students who play football is roughly 10 to 20 percent of the student body.

That leaves a lot of folks left cheering in the stands. Justifying the benefit of thousands of dollars on those students gets a little harder.

Most schools spend about $500 to outfit a football player &8212; some of the parts of a uniform last more than one year. But cheerleaders and soccer players often have to fund their own uniforms or hold fundrasiers.

&8220;I do think it&8217;s a little extreme that they got new uniforms just because they took red out of the school colors,&8221; ACCS senior Brittany Allen said of the football players at her school.

Cathedral eighth-grader Lauren Miller agreed.

&8220;They do spend more money on the football team. They get new jerseys every year. Some of the money could go to the (other) teams.&8221;

Corey Adams, a freshman at Natchez High, felt other sports were being shafted as well.

&8220;I&8217;m just more of a soccer fan,&8221; Adams said.

Budgetary concerns at many schools have forced the cancellation of academic programs, but cutting the football program is last on the list for most schools.

&8220;Yes, athletics does cost money,&8221; Sanguinetti said. &8220;We don&8217;t bring in enough to cover it, but if we got rid of one sport we&8217;d lose some students. If we got rid of football, we&8217;d lose them all.

&8220;We would not have a school. We would have a tough time making ends meet with tuition.&8221;

Brooks Turner, a ninth-grader on the Cathedral dance team, said the school&8217;s football team was a central focus of some students&8217; lives.

&8220;I think it brings us together,&8221; Turner said. &8220;Everybody comes to the games &8212; even the away games.&8221;

Forming a family

Perhaps it is the tradition, the bonding, the common cause that makes football worth the cost after all.

Trinity head coach David King felt a key to a football team bringing a school together was that program being a successful one.

&8220;You go to schools like Trinity &8212; we&8217;re exceptionally strong in our football program,&8221; King said. &8220;I think our kids that don&8217;t play rally behind it. I think our teachers get on board. It&8217;s that way with good programs.&8221;

Kendall Logan, a junior wide receiver at Natchez High, said he had noticed a rise in interest from the student body after the Bulldogs&8217; strong start this season.

&8220;Sometimes, (classmates) will wish us luck,&8221; he said. &8220;They care a little bit more. They seem concerned when we lose. It wasn&8217;t that way before.&8221;

Huntington head coach Chad Harkins has taken note of his school getting behind his program.

&8220;It doesn&8217;t make much money, but it&8217;s something everyone can rally around. Football isn&8217;t just for the players. It&8217;s for the cheerleaders, the band &8212; if you have one &8212; and the fans.&8221;

Huntington headmaster Ray King felt any of the costs associated with football were well worth what it could bring to a school and town.

&8220;Of course it&8217;s worth it,&8221; he said. &8220;The value of a winning athletic program can&8217;t be overestimated. The kids get so much out of it, and it is a source of pride for them and the community.&8221;

Many students echoed those sentiments.

&8220;I love going to football games because everybody on the team is my best friend, so I go to support them. It&8217;s a big part of student life,&8221; Trinity senior Jon Davis King said.

Alaina Burns, 14, a freshman at Vidalia High School, said she didn&8217;t doubt her school&8217;s commitment to the team.

&8220;I think school spirit is strong, otherwise students wouldn&8217;t pay $25 to ride on the bus to see the team play.&8221;

Natchez High senior Walter Patterson felt football was a big part of his school.

&8220;I go to the games,&8221; he said. &8220;We come out there, meet people, watch the game and have fun.&8221;

Life beyond the field

Perhaps the biggest advantage proponents of football at the high school level have is what the sport can do for a young man that is truly dedicated to it.

&8220;It&8217;s good, because you have to be dedicated to play it,&8221; said Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley, who has been a head coach since 1978 and in the field since 1970. &8220;I&8217;ve seen kids that had trouble off the field get in football and get straightened out. I think it&8217;s being part of a team.&8221;

NHS player Kendall Logan, who is in his first year of varsity football, said he had seen plenty of changes in himself since joining the team.

&8220;I&8217;m more verbal now,&8221; he said. &8220;I&8217;ve become more of a leader. I&8217;ve really seen a lot of things it can help me with in the real world.&8221;

Taylor Brantley, a Cathedral player, said he&8217;s seen football change his life.

&8220;I&8217;ve noticed a big difference,&8221; Brantley, who has been a member of the Green Wave for two years now, said. &8220;I&8217;ve made a lot of friends, I&8217;m a lot bigger and stronger and I have a whole different attitude. It&8217;s unexplainable.&8221;

The unexplainable to a teenager, makes perfect since to the seasoned educator.

&8220;One of the important things about playing athletics is you have to give your very best you have if you want to be successful,&8221; ACCS Headmaster John Gray said. &8220;We try to carry that over to the personal life. You learn to work with other people. You&8217;ve got to be willing to give your best to be successful in life.&8221;

While football&8217;s value may forever be up for debate, its place in the hearts of millions of people shows no signs of giving up its spot.

Perhaps Ferriday junior Corey Theriot said it best.

&8220;Basically the football team, the band and academics are Ferriday High School.&8221;

Rick Breland, Julie Cottrell,

Julie Finley

, Katie Stallcup and Wesley Steckler contributed to this report.