Alice Reese, Herald-Banner movie critic, says "12 Mighty Orphans," starring Luke Wilson as Coach Rusty Russell, is based on the best-selling book by Jim Dent about the Fort Worth Masonic Home football teams of the 1930s. Students at the school were either orphans or came from destitute families, but Russell built a football team that competed at the highest-levels of Texas high-school football. Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall also have roles in the movie, filmed in Fort Worth, Weatherford and Cleburne.
'12 Mighty Orphans' Is A Classic Texas High-School Football Tale

12 Mighty Orphans, Facebook