High school football participation has decreased nationally over the last five years. High schools in dozens of states have canceled varsity or junior-varsity seasons, and in a scattering of cases, schools have cut entire football programs. And so football is doomed, some people say, from the pros to the pee-wees. It’s destined to get spiked like a football in the classic touchdown celebration. Well, here’s another view: Football isn’t going away. Not anytime soon, anyway. Football is too ingrained in the history, culture and rituals of America to get run out of the stadium. It’s a huge part of the country’s attitude. And, oh yeah, football still brings in a ton of money.   It’s like Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs in that GEICO commercial, where everything sticks to his hands. The NFL has its hands in everything, and the money just sticks -- layer upon layer of it. That’s how the NFL generated about $14 billion in revenue last year. And college football is

Coach Gordon Nehls is the narrator and protagonist of Fourth Down in Texas, but Eric “Mosey” Posey is the heart of the novel. He’s also the character I enjoyed writing the most, partly because he’s inspired by a former high school football player that I covered as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News (more on that in a minute). Coach Nehls describes Mosey -- a nickname shortened to “Mose” by those who know him best – as a once-in-a-generation player. Mose was a kid who could launch a thousand coaching headaches, but he could also do it with a smile and a charm, and his immense competitiveness and ability made him a high school star. That comes across when Coach Nehls talks about the final touchdown Mose scored in high school:          One thing that has stuck with me from Mose’s last touchdown is the sound. Players and coaches around me were cheering, of course, but I could still hear the cracking and creaking of pads as the defenders changed direction and gave chase