If ever there was a metaphor for a 31-game losing streak it is the play you see below.
Video Courtesy Service Electric TV 2 Sports
The errant throw showcased here, as highlighted in a variety of sources, was produced by Allentown (Pa.) Dieruff High quarterback Quentin Williams, who missed his man and instead took out the game's referee.
Williams' pass was off target, but the blooper was clearly an honest mistake. It appears that the intended receiver ran a different route than what Williams anticipated, leaving no one but the back judge even in the frame of where the pass eventually landed.
Then again, perhaps Williams was off target because he was upset about his team's past offensive profligacy. Perhaps he was upset that, at that point, Dieruff was already trailing in the game, to a point where they weren't coming back; the Huskies fell behind 28-0 to Pocono Mountain (Pa.) East High before eventually capitulating by a score of 39-12.
The good news from the school's season opener was two-fold: First, the official who was struck by the pass seemed to recover just fine. And secondly, Dieruff's coach and players really think they're on the verge of breaking through for a long-awaited victory.
"We have talent and kids who can play football," first-year Dieruff football coach Kyle Beller told the Allentown Morning Call. "We've been talking about correctable mistakes and it's time to correct them. If we stick together as a team and we correct those mistakes, I still feel good about this team. Very good."
Something tells Prep Rally a particular back judge from Dieruff's game against Pocono Mountain East might not feel the same way.
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