Coaches: Note the similarity of the two plays below to the dive option series from the Split T which came along 30 years later.

A Clever Fake Play
By Dr. Paul Withington, of Harvard,
Head Coach University of Wisconsin

“I should say to the captain of a high school football team, if he came to me and asked for the best play I knew, ‘Make your men learn how to tackle. A team whose members are all good tacklers will be a good team.’

“But here are two offensive plays which are good. The first is a simple line play; the second a fake built on the same play. They go well together.

“In the play in Figure 1, the center passes the ball to the quarter, who passes (hands off) to back No. 2, who plunges through between center and guard. No. 3 goes ahead as interference, while 1 makes a bluff to forward pass or run.

Figure 2

“The second play from the same formation starts as in Figure 1, with the quarter receiving the ball and passing it (faking a hand-off) towards 2, but instead of giving him the ball he withdraws it and conceals it by bending low over it. 2 plunges into the line as if he had the ball. 1 and 3 play as before. The quarter hesitates until the opponents are drawn toward the “fake,” then circles the end with 1 as an interferer. This play may also be made by giving the ball to E, the End, and having him skirt the end instead of the quarterback.”

It’s the Spin That Wins!
Ted Seay
seayee@hotmail.com