Having played all my HS home games on Saturday nights (shared field), as a player I much preferred playing on Friday nights.
There were a few perks to playing on Saturday (interest from other league opponents), but for the most part the adverse affects of playing Saturday night games outweighed the perks.
Weeks with a Saturday game meant one more additional day of full practice (yes, Friday was a walk-through, but Thursday was a walk-through in weeks with a Friday game). Saturday was pretty much consumed with staying rested and getting ready for the game; it prevented attending an OSU game, or picking up a basketball for that next season, and it ruled out a date/movie for the weekend (team rules for night before a game). Saturday night games left only Sunday to rest/recover with a run/lifting session. Even the NFL gets a day off; HS players are in class all day Monday-Friday, even if a coach were to consider giving a day off from practice during the week. I always felt better physically and mentally the week following a Friday game in comparison to a Saturday game. It was infinitely easier to play Friday, get in a run and lift session Saturday morning, have fun with a girlfriend Saturday evening and get rest on Sunday. When we played Saturday night games, that run/lift session on Sunday morning was sometimes cancelled because A. rest was more important certain weeks, and/or B. some pastors (and parents) were not happy about Sunday morning run/lift sessions (given that we were a Catholic HS).
From a fan's perspective, I understand the desire for Friday/Saturday split of games - more football to watch and possibly more gate revenue for HS football. At this point in my life, I like watching as many games as I can. However, that ignores the point made by one of the coaches in a prior post - Saturday games result in a greater number of hours spent on the job and not with family for the entire weekend. Same goes for players. HS football is a large part of our fabric, but it is not the only thing in our lives. Making the week harder for players so that adults have 2 games to watch on the weekend gives our teenagers one more reason to not play football. The "normal" HS schedule is Friday night, so asking the same Division each year to play Saturday games is unfair (and you can see the assignment of divisions to Friday/Saturday was in part based on increased attendance. For a State Final, no big deal, I'd play Tuesday at 6:30 am (though no one would watch). Once a season, no big deal, including from the coach's perspective. But half of the games during the regular season and/or all the games in a 6-game playoff run being on Saturday night is not the best thing for the PLAYERS. It's not the best thing for coaches. And other than the big OCC, GCCL and St Eds of the world, those coaches get paid $10,000 or less to coach our crazy game. Asking them to give ANOTHER night to accommodate HS fans getting to watch 2 games in a weekend or for a slight bump in gate revenue seems over the top. This is not the NFL or NCAA football. And as a sidenote, D-3 College has it figured right. D-3 games are consistently on Saturday afternoons (with an occasional night game) - mostly in accord with the home team's traditions and with respect for the travel needs of the visiting team. Those D-3 players get Saturday night off, they have Sundays to themselves and have light/short practices at least one day each week to allow for classwork, etc... Attendance and fan enjoyment may be on the list of their considerations, but far down the priority list. Player considerations come first, second and third. As it should be.
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