There's a paradoxical truth about trick plays in any sport: once they become popular, the lose their element of surprise. That's why when a team comes up with a truly awesome trick play, it's a big deal.
So I was surprised while watching a high school football game last month to see one of the most brilliant trick plays of my life, and no one noticed. The game was televised and the announcers didn't notice it. And because it featured the two top teams in the state, the paper had a huge write-up--but again, the trick play went completely unnoticed.
Can you spot the unusual part of the play?
On the surface, this was just a fake punt that went 50 yards for a touchdown (potentially tying the game in the 4th quarter). See if you can see what was so unusual about who caught the pass. (Go to the 1:54:45 mark....sorry, couldn't trim it)
Did you see who caught the pass? It was the CENTER! How often do you see that?
How in the world is that legal?
To cut through the technical jargon, there are two simple rules that need to be understood.
- On any offensive play, there need to be seven men on the line of scrimmage. Only the ones on the end are eligible to go down field or catch a pass.
- On punts, the defense isn't allowed to touch the center, as he's defenseless while looking back to the punter. This almost always means he's the first to run downfield to make a tackle. There's nothing unusual with seeing him make a free release.
Let's take a second look at how the offense lined up for this punt
If it's difficult to see what's going on, let's look at it from a bird's eye view.
By moving the two linemen to the right of the center ever-so-slightly off of the line of scrimmage, the center became an eligible receiver. And because it was a punting play, the long-snapper is allowed to have an eligible number.
What made the play even more effective was that the offense had willingly gotten a Delay of Game penalty to move back five yards. This made it appear far less likely that a fake would occur, as the team had to gain five more yards, and it seemed like they just wanted to pin the opponent back even further.
The chess match was fascinating as the coaches of the two teams worked together for over 20 years, and likely knew each other's strategy inside and out.
Keeping it in perspective
As fun as these plays are, football is a game that's determined largely by the un-glamorous stuff--like winning the battle for the line of scrimmage. If you lose sight of that, you won't get many wins. Indeed, in the game above, the team that successfully ran the trick play ended up losing, as they simply couldn't control the line of scrimmage.
That being said, plays like this are what make football such a fascinating and fun game to watch.
Photos: Pixabay, My24Milwaukee via Youtube.