Sounds like the coach was a real fan of Tim Taylor (Home Improvement).

Yet, on a more serious note.... The latest energy codes would have those lights on a programmable timer, with the manual bypass limited to operating the lights for a maximum of two hours.

That, of course, leads to the following scenario. The school has such a good team, it gets into the playoffs. Since playoff games are not part of the schedule, they are not programmed into the timer. Come playoff day, the lights are switched on manually.
The game goes into overtime. Just as the tie-breaking score is made...CLUNK.... and off go the lights. Being HID, everyone (including the TV networks) gets to wait 20 minutes for them to re-strike.

Progress! Gotta love it! [Linked Image]