Now THAT is a touchdown!

September 17, 2011, 9:54 am

There is nothing like high school football
In the truly miraculous play you see above, Chatham (N.J.) High used multiple backward scrambles, a recovered fumble and enough broken tackles to send any defensive coordinator into a fit to score a key second-quarter touchdown in Chatham's 28-14 victory at Hackettstown (N.J.) High.  Amazingly, the play might not have happened if the Chatham coaching staff's headsets were working correctly. Because they weren't, the Cougars' offense was constantly adjusting at the line and dealing with general confusion in the huddle.

On the miraculous touchdown, that confusion translated to an unblocked Hackettstown rusher, who nearly sacked Chatham quarterback Thomas Guida as soon as he got the shotgun snap. Instead, Guida wriggled free on the first of five remarkably eluded tackles. After retreating farther into his backfield, Guida was again met by a linebacker, but he ducked below that attempted Hackettstown tackle. An instant later he eluded a trio of would-be tacklers, though one dislodged the ball and sent Guida scrambling farther back toward his own end zone to recover the fumble.

While some players would have simply pounced on the loose football and killed the play, Guida picked it up and coolly connected with Cory Heidaran, whose ability to elude tacklers proved no less impressive than Guida's. After pulling in the pass at the 26-yard line, Heidaran backtracked directly into the teeth of the Hackettstown defense only to find a slippery seam that helped him elude three tackles himself and earn a clean sprint to a touchdown.