Loganville High School in Georgia won their season opener on Friday night with a spectacular trick play, using a behind the back no-look pass thrown by their tight end to set up the winning touchdown over Monroe Area in quadruple overtime. According to a report by the Athens Banner-Herald, the deciding play of the game was “Banana in the tailpipe,” a gimmick play usually run just to spruce up the end of practice.
With the game tied 39-all in the fourth overtime, Loganville faced a 3rd-and-long at the 13-yard line, with the Red Devils lining up in shotgun formation. The tailback took off to the right at the snap, with the quarterback running straight ahead and handing the ball to tight end Connor O’Neill, who was running in the opposite direction. O’Neill then flung the ball backwards over his head to fellow tight end Joshua Ruder, who made the catch over the middle and was ruled down at the half yard line.
The Red Devils would punch it in at the goal line to go ahead 45-39, and their defense would get the stop they needed on the next series to score the victory.
“We practiced it, we drew it up and told them that it’s just a gimmicky play that we’re probably never going to use, but there’s a good chance that when you do stuff like this it’s going to work,” Loganville coach Brad Smith told the Banner-Herald. “Nobody is expecting it, nobody would remotely think that someone is going to throw it over their head like that toward the end zone.”
The play, which spread online as a viral highlight on Saturday morning, allowed Loganville to start their season on a high note in non-region competition. Loganville is in a new-look Region 8-5A, and their victory over Monroe Area — a top-10 team in Class 3A competition — marked a notable triumph for the Class 5A team.
