This week's bizarre high school football score

Finally, a proper successor to Keith Jackson.

 

Leaving aside the illegal formation, that a coach would even know this was allowed is amazing. The last one I know of in the NFL was in a preseason game in 1968 or so (Bears-Cardinals), and it fell short.

 

I think the Raiders tried a couple when Sebastian Janikowski was kicking for them. I seem to recall one from about 70 yards that he missed.

 

Madden would mention it on the air every now and then. It even made one of his books. Only saw it tried once, in a high school game. It missed.

 

The Tony Dungy Colts ran a trick play against the Patriots in an important situation that was an illegal play/formation. I think it was under Dungy the Colts ran a trick punt play formation that got blown up laughably easy.

It's not just high school coaches.

 

I think this is the "trick punt play formation" that you referred to. This was when Chuck Pagano was the head coach, a few years after Dungy stepped down:

 

Part of the description to the punt video is "DUMBEST PLAY IN COLTS HISTORY."

No. The dumbest play the Colts ran against the Patriots is the illegal formation one. I remember a clip of the Colts radio screaming "But they practiced it all week!" Tony Dungy practiced an illegal play.

Designing an awful trick play is one thing. Practicing and using an illegal play is another.

 

It's Mike Cofer. Of course he missed it.

 

The four players on each side rule for kickoffs has only been put in in the last 15 years or so after some teams tried these 10-man stampedes onside kick plays where the kicker was off on one hashmark and the other 10 guys in a cluster on the other, the kicker would just squib the ball 12 yards and then those 10 guys come storming in, knock everybody in sight down, and hope you just outnumber them in the dog pile.

 

Thanks!

 

The first comment on YouTube on the Cofer attempt cleared up my memory: On Nov. 3, 1968, the Bears beat the Packers 13-10 on a fair catch free kick by Mac Percival at the 43-yard line after a Packers punt with 26 seconds left.