High school play obviously has strategies that aren't appropriate for higher stakes or at a higher level of play: There are a lot of silly plays that high schoo

High school play obviously has strategies that aren't appropriate for higher stakes or at a higher level of play: There are a lot of silly plays that high schools do that you'll never see in the professional leagues, aside from pro bowl level frivolity. It's worth noting that this isn't about "going for it" on the 4th down, but instead about trying onside kicks. I mention that because one of the academic papers linked (by David Romner) is specifically about going for it on 4th down, and it doesn't say not to punt, but rather that on the average there are are many situations where teams punt when odds favor going for it on the 4th down (e.g. 4th and inches at your own 30 yard line. Aside from the last minutes of the 4th quarter down 6 points, the vast majority of teams would punt it).