UPDATED: This report was updated at 9 p.m. Friday and removed information about Dallas Christian and Tyler Grace Community not taking the field for the national anthem. Neither team was on the field for the anthem, but Dallas Christian told SportsDay that was due to a mistake by the public-address announcer, not a protest by the teams. In the original post, we also reported players from The Colony 'knelt briefly at midfield before the national anthem,' but this was not in the form of any protest.

There were several signs of protest by area high school football players Friday night, including two entire Dallas ISD football teams -- Spruce and Lincoln -- kneeling during the national anthem at separate games.

Players from Spruce knelt in the end zone at Seagoville's James Ray Henry Stadium, while their opponent, Conrad, stood next to them.

"The kids decided they would kneel during the anthem early in the week. It was their decision," Spruce coach Carl Richardson said. "We talked about it all week, and the coaches, managers and trainers stood during the anthem."

Players from Lincoln knelt along the sideline stretching from the end zone to the 15-yard line during the anthem at Forester Field. Their opponent, Life Waxahachie, stood.

Earlier this week, Dallas ISD athletic director Gil Garza said that he would prefer if athletes from the school district stood during the national anthem. But he also said that he didn't have the right to tell students not to protest.

"It's a very sensitive issue. You can look at it from a lot of different ways. For me, I don't like to use our athletic platform to make political points," Garza said Tuesday. "I think there is a time and a place for peaceful protests and that type of stuff. I don't think when the national anthem is being played that that's particularly what I want our kids to do.

"I don't really think these kids would be protesting the flag and the men and women who have served. I think they would be emulating what they see on TV, and I'm not so sure how many kids really understand everything."

Garza, who is retiring in December, went on to say, "But who am I? I'm just another human being. I'm just another American. I don't have the right. That's what America is -- freedom. I don't have the right to impose my will on anybody."

Players for DeSoto and Cedar Hill were not on the field for the national anthem, but the anthem was played earlier than usual to allow time for a special pregame ceremony involving NFL Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.

Tomlinson said it should be an all-or-nothing thing with a team.

"Do something that you all want to support with each other and you all feel strongly about," Tomlinson said. "These are your buddies, these are your teammates, your brothers, so they're going to support you at the end of the day. So I would say make it more of a team thing."

For Hebron's game against Trophy Club Byron Nelson at Northwest ISD Stadium, both teams stood in their inflatable tunnels during the anthem, with their hands over their hearts.

A night after eight members of the Garland Lakeview football team knelt as a sign of protest during the national anthem Thursday, another Garland ISD team followed suit. Several Garland players knelt during the national anthem at Williams Stadium on Friday before the team played Garland Naaman Forest. The rest of their teammates stood during the anthem.

Some Garland High players take a knee during National Anthem at Williams Stadium @SportsDayHS pic.twitter.com/jHIHW6QaAb — Derek Ray Johnson (@derekraydj) September 30, 2017

Arlington Lamar's Bobby Brown and Javonte Kemp knelt during the anthem before their game against Arlington Sam Houston at Cravens Field. Brown, a four-star recruit, is ranked as the 14th-best defensive tackle in the nation in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports.com.

Lamar’s Bobby Brown and Javonte Kemp kneel during the national anthem. @SportsDayHS #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/wIsjEaLuHp — Selby Lopez (@LopezSelby31) September 30, 2017

Many NFL players chose to kneel or lock arms during the national anthem last Sunday, and on Monday, the Cowboys knelt before the anthem and then locked arms during it. The showing of solidarity came in the wake of Friday's comments by President Donald Trump, who challenged NFL owners to fire any player who didn't stand for the anthem.

A year ago, Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. A few weeks later, the DeSoto volleyball team knelt during the anthem before its match, but there were no other reports of individual athletes or teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area kneeling during a playing of the anthem.

The NFL players' protests were much more widespread and high-profile this year.

Staff writer Matt Wixon and special contributors Selby Lopez, Reece Waddell, Derek Johnson, Bo Carter and Jim Goodson contributed to this report.

Twitter @DMNGregRiddle

Lincoln HS players kneel before their game Friday night. (Bo Carter)

@SportsDayHS West Mesquite's Wranglers locked arms and stood for the National Anthem before their game against Lovejoy. pic.twitter.com/KyfO852IbV — Kirk Dickey (@TheKirkDickey) September 30, 2017