There were tricks. There were tempers. Rush Propst tossed a whole headset at his son in his first game back.

High school football made its glorious return all over the state on Friday night. It felt like the hottest day of the year. Even the mosquitos were sizzling. Naturally, things got a little testy in a city called Moody, but was anyone expecting a different outcome with Propst once again walking the sidelines in Alabama?

Propst is at Pell City. His goal is to build the school’s underachieving football team into a powerhouse and then retire. He put together an heavyweight staff of assistants to do it and the team looks better than anyone was expecting. It’s a wild story and it officially all started on Friday night in St. Clair County. Count Moody coach Jake Ganus among the people who didn’t expect to see Propst — renowned for offensive innovations — break out the triple option for his big return to Alabama high school football.

Propst had everyone fooled for his first game in his home state since resigning from Hoover in 2007, and his opening gambit was almost enough against one of the state’s most talented up-and-coming coaches. Moody was a heavy favorite in this one. It took a while, but the better team found its form in the second half.

Ganus’ so-called “411 Boys” shined when it mattered most.

Behind a raucous home crowd, Moody roared back from a first half deficit and won its highly anticipated season opener 28-24. Pell City had a chance to win it in the end, but Moody’s defense sacked visiting quarterback Nikita Getmanshchuk to put the game away.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said Ganus, who played college ball at UAB and Georgia. “I can’t say enough about their fight. Hats off to Pell City. By far the most improved team I’ve seen in a year’s turnaround.”

That’s the Propst Effect, and it only seems like a matter of time before Pell City begins sending some shockwaves through the state. Lightning almost struck in Moody, but Propst left upset about an offensive pass interference call in the second half that canceled out a Pell City score.

“That was probably the worst call I’ve seen in high school football in my life,” Propst said on Pell City’s local radio postgame show. “In 41 years, I’ve never seen an offensive pass interference that bad. I tried to go back in all my career, and I think that’s by far the worst call that I’ve ever witnessed in a football game on pass interference. I mean, I don’t even know what he’s looking at…I went and looked at it on the iPad and ran it back about 18 times. There’s no way that was pass interference.”

It was one of the game’s pivotal plays, but there were others.

Blown coverage by Pell City’s defense on third and 21 kept Moody alive in the second quarter. On the play, a 62-yard touchdown throw from Moody quarterback Charlie Johnston to receiver Braden Wright cut Pell City’s lead to 10-7. It was Moody’s only significant offensive gain of the entire first half. Moody ran just three offensive plays in the first quarter with Pell City’s triple-option FrakenRush offense eating clock and energy in the relentless Alabama heat.

The rivalry was not without sufficient displays of sideshow shenanigans. The two teams had to be separated before the game and then again near the end of the first half after a Moody player was flagged for a late hit on Pell City’s Caleb Groce.

During the dust up, Propst threw his headset at his son, player John David Propst, to prevent the sophomore receiver from running into the commotion. The headset broke when it made contact with John David Propst’s helmet, but a handy sideline technician repaired the communication device in seconds.

Propst momentarily lost his cool during the game, but afterwards said his return to Alabama high school football was less emotional than he expected it to be.

“You just coach football,” Propst said. “It’s a game of football and it’s about the kids and trying to win a game in a tough situation.”

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.