Posts Tagged ‘punt return’

We saw DeadSpin tweet the following video out this morning from a Canadian high school that is, without question, the craziest play we have ever seen. 

In order to even remotely understand what happens in the clip, you first have to read the explanation that DeadSpin provides (via Prep Rally) on why the play is not illegal in Canadian football 

Unlike American football, Canadian football holds that once a punt travels more than 10 yards downfield, the kicking team can recover the free ball and regain possession. In this way, Canadian punts are essentially just like American kickoffs.

However, in a nod to rugby, Canadian football holds that on scrimmage kicks (i.e., punts and missed field goals), the returning team can respond by immediately punting the ball back to the other team, creating a free-for-all where whichever team gets to the ball first will retain possession.

Yep. Only in Canada....

When there's 25 seconds left in the game and you're getting ready to send your punt unit onto the field with with the game tied up, most coaches would tell their punter to kick the ball out of bounds and not allow the nation's top punt returner a chance to win the game.

That's not what NC State did. Instead, they kicked the ball deep to the dangerous Giovani Bernard with less than 30 seconds left and Bernard made them pay. The return team set up some great blocks to spring him free.

Following the game winning return, Bernard solidified his spot as one of the most feared return men in the country. He averages 21 yards per return and has taken two touchdowns back for six in just twelve attempts. For his efforts, North Carolina was named the FootballScoop Special Teams Unit of the Week.

Let these videos serve as a warning to the teams that remain on North Carolina's schedule (Georgia Tech, Virginia and Maryland), if the game is on the line, keep the ball out of Giovani Bernard's hands (he also ranks third nationally in rushing yards per game).

He'll make you pay if you don't.