High school football dates back to the late 19th century, concurrent with the start of many college football programs. In the late 19th and early 20th century, many college and high school teams played against one another. Many other traditions of high school football such as marching bands and homecoming games are mirrored in college football.

Rules

With their common ancestry, the NFHS rules of high school football are largely similar to the college game, though with some important differences:

• The four quarters are each 12 minutes in length, as opposed to 15 minutes in all other forms of the game.
• Kickoffs take place at the kicking team's 40 yd line, as opposed to 30 in college and the NFL.
• If a ball crosses the plane of the goal line on a missed field goal, it would be a touchback and the opposing team will start at the 20 yd line.
• Any kick crossing the goal line is automatically a touchback; kicks cannot be returned out of the end zone.
• Pass interference by the defense results in a 15-yard penalty (and automatic first down), regardless of where the foul occurred (unlike the pro ranks where the ball is placed at the spot of the foul).
• The defense cannot return an extra-point attempt for a score.
• The use of overtime, and the type of overtime used, is up to the individual state association.

At least one unique high school rule has been adopted by college football. In 1996, the overtime rules originally utilized by Kansas high school teams were adopted by the NCAA.

The high school football season

The regular season typically consists of ten games in most states.Fact: date=August 2008 The first game of the season is usually in late August or early September and the final regular season game is usually in late October to the middle of November.Fact: date=August 2008 Teams may have one or more bye weeks during the regular season. The vast majority of high school football games are scheduled for Friday nights, with Thursday evenings and Saturdays being less heavily used.Fact: date=August 2008 Alternate days are most common in larger school districts where the facilities are used by multiple schools. Larger schools (especially those with successful programs) can often draw attendances in the thousands, even for regular season games, and in some cases may play the game at a college or professional stadium to accommodate the expected large crowds.

Each state has at least one sanctioning organization for public schools. In many states a separate organization governs interscholastic athletics at most private schools. Each sanctioning body divides its member schools up into anywhere from two to eight size classifications based on enrollment and then each classification is further divided into geographic regions. The size classifications are arranged from 'A'/'1A' (the smallest) to 'AAAAAAAA'/'8A' (the largest), though the nomenclature and number of size divisions vary from state to state. A school's size classification will change if its enrollment rises or declines over the years. At the smallest schools, particularly in rural communities or smaller private schools, variations on the game using six, eight, or nine players per side instead of the traditional eleven (or twelve in Canada) are encountered.