Safety’s New Playbook

Under the glow of the kind of Panhandle sunset 

that lights the sky on fire, high school football fills 
the stands at Dick Bivins Stadium. Fans expect the 
electrifying feeling of watching the fabled Friday 
Night Lights in action, and a Friday night here 
delivers.

“There’s such intrigue about Texas high school 

football,” notes Amarillo ISD Assistant Athletic 
Director Dr. Justin Hefley. 

The lore of Texas high school football hasn’t 

changed much over the years, but today, amid the 
referee’s chirping whistle and the clacking of pads as 

players recoil from a tackle, the game is evolving.

This isn’t the tackling technique of their fathers 

and grandfathers. 

“We don’t tackle with our head. We tackle with our 

shoulders,” Tascosa High School Head Football Coach 
Ken Plunk told Portraits. 

Taking the head out of the tackle is an approach 

that might not change the outcome of the game, but 
it is changing outcomes for players and making the 
game safer. It is just one effort adopted by AISD and 
part of sweeping protocol to make sports safer for 
every student athlete.

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portraits

    »     AMARILLO ISD