DEAR EDITOR:

The scoreboard says 49-0. The crowd’s roaring, the band’s playing and the town’s undefeated team is basking in another easy victory. It looks perfect, another chapter in a picture-postcard season.

But perfection can be deceiving.

Because behind the chants, behind the helmets and highlight reels, there’s another story playing out, the quiet politics of high school football. It’s not about the kids who score touchdowns. It’s about the ones who’ve earned the right to and never get the chance.

You see it every Friday night across America. A senior who’s done everything right, who’s lifted, studied, led and waited his turn, watches from the sideline while someone younger or better connected takes the field. And everyone pretends not to notice.

The team keeps winning so the que

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