Arkansas High School Football Game Put On Pause After Elderly Fan Tries To Attack Referee

High school football is different in the South. The passion and emotion behind a game played with a lemon-shaped ball on a gridiron is turned up a notch.

Friday's night in small-town Arkansas is the perfect example. Things got weird in a hurry.

The game, played in Lepanto, Ark., pit East Poinsett County High School against Walnut Ridge High School. The former is located in a town with a total population of less than 2,000. The latter is located in a town with around 5,000.

For both places, their high school football teams mean a lot to the community. It's their professional team, if you will.

Well, sometimes that desire to bring your team home to victory goes just a little bit too far. Or a lot a bit too far, as was the case on Friday.

As the first half came to a close on a one-possession ball game, a fan took issue with how the referee was calling the game. Rather than letting him hear it from the sideline, the fan decided to take matters into his own hands and went rogue.

He ran out onto the field and charged the official, trying to get his hands on the man in stripes. Fortunately, the fan was stopped before he could unleash his wrath on the referee.

After the first man (who everybody in the town probably knows by name) was pulled away from the field, you can hear him say "I'd like to knock the hell out of him!"

And then a few others got into the mix. They gave the officiating crew a piece of their mind before things were broken up.

Take a look at the wild, small-town Arkansas football scene:

Again, Friday night lights in rural Arkansas is a huge deal. The fans are willing to do whatever they can to bring their town home to victory, as we saw on Friday. You can't knock the love for the game!