Billingsley was the tailback) and #35. In the film, Brian Chavez was the #4 strong safety, while he was the #85 tight end in the book, and Ivory Christian was a defensive end and wore #90, while he was the #62 middle ("Mike") linebacker in the book. At the beginning of the film, as the camera panned over Coach Gaines' depth chart, 'Miles' name was listed under the FB tag. Chris Comer was also the backup fullback in the book, not a third-string tailback. One of the athletic directors in the stadium booth said, "I think he's a sophomore", when Comer was a junior at the time. Comer also wore #45 in the real season, but in the film he wore #42. Alan Wyles was depicted as a wide receiver when he was the placekicker. Don Billingsley's father Charlie was depicted in the film as having won a state championship. In reality, as a junior, the 1968 Permian team lost in the finals. The regular season In the film, the team was depicted as practicing in full pads and with full contact on the first day of practice. Under rules of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body for Texas public school sports, teams cannot use pads or hit until the 4th day of practice (however, in the deleted scenes included in the DVD, a non-pad practice was shown). A Permian booster was heard toasting Coach Gaines' second season as Permian's head coach. It was his third. Boobie Miles, in the book, injured his leg by getting his foot caught on the AstroTurf during a pre-season scrimmage against Amarillo Palo Duro at Jones Stadium in Lubbock. In the film, he was tackled by two players at the knee during a blowout non-district game at Ratliff Stadium. In the film, the top-ranked Permian Panthers defeated the hapless Marshall Bulldogs in a non-district game. In real life, the third-ranked Marshall Mavericks (whose colors are red and white, not purple and gold) defeated fourth-ranked Permian 13-12. In the film, the game was the season opener and played on a Friday night in Odessa. In real life, it was Permian's second game of the season, and played at Maverick Stadium in Marshall on a Saturday afternoon. Permian's football team chartered a jet for the 500+ mile trip from Odessa to Marshall, spawning controversy on the cost of the trip. Played before a crowd