Inside football: A lot of stuff happens that fans never see.

[The Spin Meister]

and even the coaches never know about. Here's one (and I have several) Played high school football. First start was as right guard, junior year. First quarter of first game, the play called was a reverse to a split out halfback. (A reverse is when the QB hands ball to back going one way and then that back hands the ball to another player going to opposite direction, hoping to fool the D as where the ball is going. A couple of lineman pull out and run in the direction of the play to block for the eventual running back.)

I pulled out and started heading to far sideline and nobody was there to block. I thought 'we really fooled them' and we were gonna get a TD for sure. I am standing there all alone for everyone to see when I look back and see the back running down the opposite sideline for about 30 yards....I had gone the wrong direction! Embarrassed I slowly jogged to where I thought the huddle would be. As I got there the back ran up to me and yelled "Great block! You really opened that up for me" I was too shocked to say anything and turned to the huddle and looked up. There was the other guard, my best friend, with steam coming out of ears as he was the one that threw the block. To this day he still is mad about it!

PS Blew two ligaments in my rt knee senior year that ended my career. I was too small to play anywhere other than a chance at a small school like IUP or Edinboro anyway. Thanks to my injury, I went to PSU.

Any one else have some good insider stories?

 

[OldTiredLion]

Played football throughout high school.
Flanker and cornerback.
The only time I ever scored was after the homecoming dance with Denise the majorette.

 

[LionJim]

I played right defense tackle for the Penndel Wildcats. It took the coaches a week to figure that I was blind without my glasses, lol at the memory.

 

[bison13]

I'm glad you explained the reverse. So many announcers would call that a 'double reverse.' Every time I hear Andre Ware do a game I understand why he didnt make it.

 

[massimoManca II]

Played 5yrs in the early 80s as an OL/DL... In Frosh football I got a wild hair up my ass and got the entire OL to mimmick the Tom Landry-era "Dallas Shift"... For those of you not old enough, it's where the linemen line up at the LOS with forearms on thighpads, then when QB begins cadence, in unison , the OL pops straight up then drops into three point stance... Never liked Dallas, but always thought the Dallas shift looked effing tough! Coach was hardly amused

 

[massimoManca II]

Back in the early eighties screw-in cleats were permitted only in varsity FB.... As a JV i really admired the sound of the screwins dragging in the pavement as the varsity guys came in from practice... Took my molded cleat Puma's and driiled small sheet-metsl screws into them to make me sound like the big boys

 

[jim cummings]

and even the coaches never know about. Here's one (and I have several) Played high school football. First start was as right guard, junior year. First quarter of first game, the play called was a reverse to a split out halfback. (A reverse is when the QB hands ball to back going one way and then that back hands the ball to another player going to opposite direction, hoping to fool the D as where the ball is going. A couple of lineman pull out and run in the direction of the play to block for the eventual running back.)

I pulled out and started heading to far sideline and nobody was there to block. I thought 'we really fooled them' and we were gonna get a TD for sure. I am standing there all alone for everyone to see when I look back and see the back running down the opposite sideline for about 30 yards....I had gone the wrong direction! Embarrassed I slowly jogged to where I thought the huddle would be. As I got there the back ran up to me and yelled "Great block! You really opened that up for me" I was too shocked to say anything and turned to the huddle and looked up. There was the other guard, my best friend, with steam coming out of ears as he was the one that threw the block. To this day he still is mad about it!

PS Blew two ligaments in my rt knee senior year that ended my career. I was too small to play anywhere other than a chance at a small school like IUP or Edinboro anyway. Thanks to my injury, I went to PSU.

Any one else have some good insider stories?

Made first start at left guard freshman year of high school and it was a running play that called for the guard to pull around the center. You pull only if you didn't have a tackle playing straight up.

I had a tackle heads up on me and I pulled anyway. He killed our RB. Fumble returned for TD, RB left with broken arm.

Good stuff.

 

[LionJim]

I recall watching Chris Bahr warm up from the end line, punting, before Neshaminy games. I was in like 9th grade at Sandburg JHS, my buddy and I would exclaim every time Bahr would boom one past midfield. I was a classmate of Matt Bahr and I thought he was the best athlete at Neshaminy but I don't think he was as good an athlete as Chris.

 

[therod]

and even the coaches never know about. Here's one (and I have several) Played high school football. First start was as right guard, junior year. First quarter of first game, the play called was a reverse to a split out halfback. (A reverse is when the QB hands ball to back going one way and then that back hands the ball to another player going to opposite direction, hoping to fool the D as where the ball is going. A couple of lineman pull out and run in the direction of the play to block for the eventual running back.)

I pulled out and started heading to far sideline and nobody was there to block. I thought 'we really fooled them' and we were gonna get a TD for sure. I am standing there all alone for everyone to see when I look back and see the back running down the opposite sideline for about 30 yards....I had gone the wrong direction! Embarrassed I slowly jogged to where I thought the huddle would be. As I got there the back ran up to me and yelled "Great block! You really opened that up for me" I was too shocked to say anything and turned to the huddle and looked up. There was the other guard, my best friend, with steam coming out of ears as he was the one that threw the block. To this day he still is mad about it!

PS Blew two ligaments in my rt knee senior year that ended my career. I was too small to play anywhere other than a chance at a small school like IUP or Edinboro anyway. Thanks to my injury, I went to PSU.

Any one else have some good insider stories?

It was way back during my high school days on a Saturday afternoon. I was a 160lb fullback playing for a small high school football team. We had a running play called up the gut in which we needed only a few inches for a first down. What I remember is that I got the ball and plunged straight ahead. I was buried under the pile with my helmet half off and my chinstrap over my nose and a hairy leg in my mouth. I was buried underneath and couldn't breathe or move what seemed like an eternity. I started to panic and just bit down as hard as I could on that leg. I heard a guy let out a loud scream and the pile just erupted as I got out from underneath and made it back to the huddle. About that time our center hobbled back to the huddle with fire in his eyes and hollered one of those son-of-bitches bit me.

 

[simons96]

I just remember Coach Griswold (what a great FB coach name!) making us wear green leggings for games.

He said if you're in a pile up in the middle of the field and see an ankle without a green legging, give it a twist.

It's either someone on the other team, or someone who doesn't want to be on OUR team!

I think he was serious, but I don't recall any of my teammates actually twisting an ankle.

 

[kgilbert78]

I recall watching Chris Bahr warm up from the end line, punting, before Neshaminy games. I was in like 9th grade at Sandburg JHS, my buddy and I would exclaim every time Bahr would boom one past midfield. I was a classmate of Matt Bahr and I thought he was the best athlete at Neshaminy but I don't think he was as good an athlete as Chris.

We're from the same neck of the woods, as I went to Tennent at that same time. But we had a lousy football team (though Ken MacDonald played soccer for PSU around that time).

 

[psengr82]

I played right defense tackle for the Penndel Wildcats. It took the coaches a week to figure that I was blind without my glasses, lol at the memory.

You played at the Wreck!. I played Pop Warner with Middletown at the Levittown LL fields.

 

[LionJim]

You played at the Wreck!. I played Pop Warner with Middletown at the Levittown LL fields.

I was #43 in a Baltimore Colts look alike uniform. Good times.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Some funny stuff. Here's another of mine; Senior yr, game three. Playing rt guard play goes to opposite side away from me. When our back gets up from play, he has a broken nose and is bleeding profusely. In huddle someone says he got suckered punched by other team and yells out the number of the guy that did it. Three plays later, that guy gets carried off the field. (Again on other side of field so I am innocent).

Next day while watching film of game, up comes the play our back broke his nose. Turns out, our wideout threw a block and his foot came up and hit the back in the face. Wasn't the poor guy that got carried off!

 

[NittPicker]

The only time I ever scored was after the homecoming dance with Denise the majorette.

Denise?? She told me I was the only one!!!!

 

[psengr82]

I was #43 in a Baltimore Colts look alike uniform. Good times.

I was number 46 and we looked like the Green Bay Packers, yellow/gold and green.

 

[Ranger Dan]

A reverse is when the QB hands ball to back going one way and then that back hands the ball to another player going to opposite direction, hoping to fool the D as where the ball is going

Wow, thanks for that insider information...

 

[The Spin Meister]

Wow, thanks for that insider information...

-----
Well reading what sometime passes for analysis on this board, I wanted to be safe.

 

[massimoManca II]

In Frosh and JV ball, my sicko friends and I would, naturally, enjoy trying to get the opposing OL to jump offsides by mimicking their cadence and discreetly using subtle "hutt-hutts" that the refs couldn't hear... this quickly degraded down to us making gutteral snarls and overtly sexual moans, groans, and sighs/gasps at the LOS before the snap, or even telling dirty jokes with me starting the joke then the DE sliding in with the punchline - all prior to the snap if we were on our game... really enjoyed trying to make the opposing line start cracking up and/or just simply confusing them ... made the post-game handshakes interesting - most of the guys had good senses of humor about it IIRC

 

[joedirt47]

The only time I ever scored was after the homecoming dance with Denise the majorette.

Denise?? She told me I was the only one!!!!

You should have looked online to see her guestbook, like these guys did:

I was #43.

I was number 46.

 

[Safety Blitz]

Denise?? She told me I was the only one!!!!

Denise??? I know I wasn't the only one. But I was No. 1 !!!

 

[Safety Blitz]

I played standup DE (outside LB today) back in the 70s. All power football back in those days. Went head-to-head with stud tailback on off-tackle blast in first quarter. Next thing I remember, I'm sitting in front of my locker after the game and I have no idea what the combination is to my lock. I'm told it was the best I ever played. No film. They put the camera away because of rain. Had a helluva headache for a few days. Should not have been on that field. But that was back in the old days. Just for the record, I wasn't very good but I was lucky to play on some very good teams.

 

[LionJim]

I played standup DE (outside LB today) back in the 70s. All power football back in those days. Went head-to-head with stud tailback on off-tackle blast in first quarter. Next thing I remember, I'm sitting in front of my locker after the game and I have no idea what the combination is to my lock. I'm told it was the best I ever played. No film. They put the camera away because of rain. Had a helluva headache for a few days. Should not have been on that field. But that was back in the old days. Just for the record, I wasn't very good but I was lucky to play on some very good teams.

Jerry Kramer said that in one of the best games he ever played he got kicked in the head and didn't remember a thing.