The Steubenville 'Friday Night Lights' Scenario Is Playing Out in Horrible Ways

The latest update from the Steubenville, Ohio court room where two high school football players face charges related to raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl reinforces the idea that this little Ohio town is stranger than fiction. A state investigator told the court on Thursday afternoon that one of the defendants told a friend via text that Steubenville's increasingly infamous football coach, Reno Saccoccia, said he'd keep the boys out of trouble. "I got Reno. He took care of it and sh-- ain't gonna happen, even if they did take it to court," read the text, according to Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent Joann Gibbs. If that's not a scene straight out of Friday Night Lights, we're not sure what is. And not the watered down TV version either. This is like the slightly more sinister movie version.

RELATED: Inside the Search for the Truth About Steubenville — 1,000 Tips at a Time

For the readers out there that aren't FNL fans, let us distill the metaphor. Like the fictional versions of Dillan and Odessa, Texas, Steubenville is largely regarded as a football town. And we're not talking about a town that likes football. We're talking about a town that revolves around football, a town where the head coach may as well be mayor and the players operate under a different set of rules. The running narrative regarding Saccoccia has always been that he intervened early on in the scandal and tried to cover up his players' alleged crimes. The texts revealed on Thursday would confirm this interpretation. 

RELATED: The Steubenville 'Rape Crew' Trial Will Be on Display for the World to See

However, others suggest that Saccoccia's involvement in the case is much more troubling. According to LocalLeaks, a project championed by Anonymous, Steubenville's football coach not only goes to great lengths to protect his players, he's also deeply intertwined with the local government. The site says that Saccoccia is "one of the most powerful people in Steubenville" and his connections to top local leaders suggests as much. "Reno Saccoccia's sister in law, Marguierete Clark - is the secretary for the juvenile court Judge Kerr," reads LocalLeaks profile. "Coach Saccoccia is actually employed as a mediator in juvenile court system!" So when he said he "took care of it," it would appear he wasn't bluffing.

RELATED: Viral Video and Leaks Won't Expand Steubenville Charges to 'Rape Crew'

Gibbs went on to reveal more horrifying texts from the night of the incident. Beyond those from the defendants that show they panicked in the days after the night of the alleged rape, there are a couple of heartbreaking texts from the victim herself. "What the f---. Who was there? What happened to me?" she asked a friend. "I swear to God I don't remembers anything. I remember at one point hearing (the 17-year-old defendant) telling me to do something, but I said no." While is still unclear exactly what happened that night, it doesn't sound good based on an email that the alleged victim sent a few days later. "Why the f--- would you let that happen to me?" she said. "Seriously, you have no f----- respect."