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Video: Wild, controversial lateral play ends crazy high school football game

November 3, 2015 by MaxPreps, AZPreps365


{EMBED_VIDEO_0baff7ea-6d02-41da-9656-48b3ed977a3e}Video: 4 laterals lead to crazy win, or do they?
Crazy play leads to wild finish in Arizona.

After scoring with 4.7 seconds left to take a 20-19 lead over Willow Canyon (Surprise, Ariz.), it seemed like Valley Vista (Surprise, Ariz.) had all but secured a come-from-behind victory.

The ensuing play, however, unfolded like a nightmare for Valley Vista.

The team booted the ball deep and Willow Canyon fielded it around its own five yard line.

Kick return coverage quickly went awry for Valley Vista. Willow Canyon lateraled the ball four times in less than 10 seconds.

The result was Willow Canyon's Brandon Vela getting sprung loose down the sidelines with a convoy of blockers.

Vela outran defenders and tumbled into the end zone with no time remaining for what appeared to be the game-winning score.

However, lost in the excitement was a call by the ref that one of the return men had actually been tackled at the 30-yard line.

"The play was blown dead at the 30," Valley Vista head coach Josh Sekoch told Your West Valley. "The guy was down and then he threw the ball up in the air."

Valley Vista was not completely in the clear. It was assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties as the result of a play, and Willow Canyon was given an untimed down at Valley Vista's 40-yard line.

Willow Canyon's pass fell incomplete, preserving a victory for Valley Vista which, moments earlier, looked like it had slipped away in the most dramatic possible fashion.

"I've been coaching 20 years and I've never seen that play happen at the end of a game," Sekoch told Your Valley West.