I shoot some games as well and officiate football from 7th grade up to college. Some of the best football I've worked have actually been private schools. Well coached, decent talent, and evenly balanced teams. But when working as wing officials (line judge and head linesman), we don't cheat in from the sidelines, regardless of the level we are working. And I'm certainly not going to let coaches and photogs do that. An exception might be when the ball is placed on the far hash, we are in dim light, and are expecting a sweep to the other side -- but just for me!
I don't care what level you are working or shooting, these kids are faster than you and you don't want to be backpeddling out of the way. Fortunately, I've been on a football field so much that I can almost predict pretty much what's going to happen based upon formations, previous play calls, situations, etc. That helps when I shoot, as I did numerous times in the playoffs last year. Unfortunately, the lighting in most stadiums sucks so bad, Texas Stadium is about the only venue I shoot at now. When I have time, that is.
The difference between 2A and 5A is depth. But there are also a lot of 4A and 5A teams that have decent starters and no real depth, and are killed by injuries and grades. A good 2A team would still be competitive with a decent 5A team if both teams suited out the same number of players. 5A teams lose to mediocre 4A teams in non-district ALL the time. One team I know of (5A) lost to 2 pretty bad 4A teams last year.
Who is "we?" I didn't work Celina last year, but I did work a 2A game. I do virtually all 4A and 5A though.
As to referees not letting people cheat in and not cheating in, it depends on the refs. I've never seen it above 8th grade, but when a team's on the far hash mark in the lower grades, it's pretty common for the coaches and refs to cheat in. I've never seen anything close to a collision, because everybody gets back on play flow.
Do you have any shots from games you've photographed? What kind of equipment do you use?