MURRAY, Utah – There are more than 14,000 11-player high school football teams in the United States. Which means the ‘Friday Night Lights’ are turned on for over 7,000 games every week.
One would think that every possible score and ending would be shown at least once a season. But Cottonwood High School’s game against Jordan High School had an ending that one official claimed he hadn’t seen in 29 years.
Fair reception, free kick
Late in the fourth quarter, Jordan High School punted from their side of the field, hoping to maintain their 24-22 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
To the surprise of everyone except the Cottonwood football team, a fair catch was called for when the returner had plenty of room to potentially get into field goal range. But Cottonwood coach Casey Miller had another plan in mind.
Article 3 of Section 24 of the NFHS High School Football Rules states: “A free throw is any shot that puts the ball in play to initiate a downward free throw. After setup for the game and before the kick, all players other than the kicker and place kick holder must be behind their free throw line. A free kick is used for a kickoff, for a kick after a safety, and is used if a free throw is chosen after a fair catch or rewarded with a fair catch”.
The Cottonwood High School team had prepared for this moment in practice. So instead of bringing up the offense, Cottonwood kicker Ryan Nielson was sent onto the field with a tee.
The spectators of the games, the teams and the officials were all confused. So much so that the referees met for a few minutes before finally deeming the play legal.
With the game on the line, freshman kicker Ryan Nielson stepped forward and drilled the kick.
The Colts won the game, 25-24.
You can stream high school football games every Friday night here.
Source: news.google.com