The Fumblerooski play is no more!!!

[Adidas410s]

New rules eliminate scoring opportunity for guardsESPN.com news services


High school offensive linemen looking to score will have to beg their coaches to call tackle eligible plays or insert them as fullbacks at the goal line next season.

The football rules committee of The National Federation of State High School Associations has banned the fumblerooski, the Los Angeles Times reported in Thursday's editions.

In a successful fumblerooski, the quarterback sets the ball on the ground after the snap. The offensive players fake a play one direction while a guard picks up the ball and runs the other way.

The NFL banned the trick play in the 1960s, and college football followed suit more than 10 years ago. Among the memorable plays before the ban was a 29-yard run by Sooners guard Mark Hutson, who scored a touchdown with two minutes to go in Oklahoma's 20-14 loss to Miami in the 1988 Orange Bowl.

Among the high school coaches who will have adjust his bag of tricks is Bill Redell of Westlake Village Oaks in Southern California.

Last season, one of his guards ran 74 yards for a touchdown, and he told the Times he has used the play more than 20 times since 1994.

A former assistant, Mike Sanders, also employs the play.

"The times we practiced it, the times we ran it, the kids had a blast," Sanders told the paper. "The players absolutely loved it."

But Jerry Diehl, assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, told the Times that the seldom-used play was a burden for officials.

"It eliminates confusion in a ballgame," Diehl told the paper of the rules change announced in January.

[piratebg]

Aside from the Little Giants, I have never actually seen this play run. I gues I never will now. Oh well.:(

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by piratebg
Aside from the Little Giants, I have never actually seen this play run. I gues I never will now. Oh well.:(

Doesn't the UIL play by NCAA rules though? It has been outlawed for a while in the NCAA's.

[STANG RED]

I saw Sweetwater run it two or three times a season under W. T. Stapler back in the early 80s. When ran perfectly, nobody knows where the ball is (even the refs), until the guy is 1/2 way down the field at least. Since the refs didnt know where the ball even was, the guard could even get completely down on the ground and hide the ball from sight until all the flow went the other way, then get up and run with it away from the flow (like a reverse). If the refs knew where it was, they could blow the play dead and call the player down because he actually was down. But usually, they were as surprised as anybody else, when they finally saw who had the ball.

[Hupernikomen]

Been illegal with the UIL for close to 20 years nows I do believe.

[sinton66]

Originally posted by piratebg
Aside from the Little Giants, I have never actually seen this play run. I gues I never will now. Oh well.:(

You must not have seen too many Sinton games when Gary Davenport was the coach. That was one of his best trick plays.

I personally don't think this play is any harder to referee than the swinging gate.

[piratebg]

Originally posted by sinton66
You must not have seen too many Sinton games when Gary Davenport was the coach. That was one of his best trick plays.

I personally don't think this play is any harder to referee than the swinging gate.


I moved here at the end of the Davenport Era, so I never had the honor. This is actually the first time that I here about Sinton running this play.

[sinton66]

They really only ran it a couple of times that I remember at the varsity level. The wing-t was so hard to stop, they didn't usually need the trick stuff. They did run it several tines when my son was on JV. I never saw it fail, not even once.

[Old Green]

If I'm not mistaken, Uvalde used that play to beat Lewisville for the 3A State Championship in 1972.

[sinton66]

The way Davenport coached it and had Sinton run it, they would send all the motion left and the QB would place the ball on the ground behind the right guard who would pick it up, turn his back to the defense, hide the ball, close his eyes and count to five. Then he would turn around and run for the endzone. It worked pretty well.

[Maroon87]

I remember Nebraska running it in the 1984 Orange Bowl vs. Miami.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

Back in the early '80s i remember we practice it once a week in junior high and i remember we ran it once and scored but the play was whistle dead as the ref thought somebody else had it .

[VAMike]

The change mentioned in the initial post is for the National Federation of State High School Associations. Their rulebook is used by 48 states. Texas and Massachusetts play under NCAA rules, which have outlawed "planned loose ball plays in the vicinity of the snapper" for some time now.

[BTEXDAD]

Originally posted by Old Green
If I'm not mistaken, Uvalde used that play to beat Lewisville for the 3A State Championship in 1972.

I know Uvalde used it to help beat Brenham in the semifinals in 1972. I'm not sure if they ran it again in the finals, but probably not. No one knew where the ball was till lineman was 20 yards down field.

[Old Green]

Originally posted by BTEXDAD
I know Uvalde used it to help beat Brenham in the semifinals in 1972. I'm not sure if they ran it again in the finals, but probably not. No one knew where the ball was till lineman was 20 yards down field. I think you're right BTEXDAD. I know it raised a lot of controversy.

[whtfbplaya]

When I was a jr high qb we had 2 crazy trick plays that worked. One I would tell the center that it was not our ball and he would turn amd flip it to me, then I would act like I went to the sideline and takeoff up the sideline. The other was after a pen I would say they marked it short and tell the center to give me the ball and start forward and take off just past the lbs.

[piratebg]

Originally posted by whtfbplaya
When I was a jr high qb we had 2 crazy trick plays that worked. One I would tell the center that it was not our ball and he would turn amd flip it to me, then I would act like I went to the sideline and takeoff up the sideline. The other was after a pen I would say they marked it short and tell the center to give me the ball and start forward and take off just past the lbs.


Can you do this? :confused:

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by piratebg
Can you do this?:confused:

yes... becuase the ball was snapped... the one where you say it isnt your ball has worked before :D

[raider red 2000]

trick plays are fun for the kids if they work...and the coach looks bad if it dosnt.

great way to have some fun though.