For a defender returning an interception or touchdown, there is usually no sweeter sight than a convoy of blockers surrounding him. That protective phalanx all but ensures he can trot to the end zone unscathed, earning all the glory of scoring a defensive touchdown in the process. Unfortunately for one California team last week, that was anything but the case.

The video you see above, which was submitted by Edison (Calif.) High's Brad Franca, shows a dramatic fumble, recovery, breakaway and, eventually, an almost unspeakable blunder, with Edison return man Brandon Hang -- that's No. 28 in white -- tripping over lead blocker Derrick Randall, who wears No. 11.

The size differential between the players adds to the comical effect, of course, and either could have been blamed for the slip up (pardon the horrific pun there). Clearly, Hang was losing some of the early pace he showed when he first recovered the fumble. At the same

One of the youngest and most high-profile football coaches in Connecticut has become embroiled in a scandal after an opposing coach accused he and his staff of brazenly cheating in a tense game last week.

According to the Hartford Courant, former UConn quarterback and wide receiver D.J. Hernandez, now the head football coach at Southington (Conn.) High, somehow acquired an armband lost by a Manchester (Conn.) High receiver in the game between the two teams last Friday. Manchester coach Marco Pizzoferatto claims that the armband had all of his team's coded plays on it, which allowed Hernandez to hear which play the Manchester quarterback was calling at the line of scrimmage and tell his defensive captains what was coming via his coaching headset. Manchester traditionally calls its plays at the line of scrimmage while using a rapid strike no-huddle offense.

"Southington somehow got it and used it," Pizzoferrato told the Courant. "When our quarterback [Seth DeValve] called the play, D.J.

If you haven't ever been to a six-man football game, you haven't really lived. If you like watching teams score 70 or more points -- sometimes in a loss -- all while as few as eight high school athletes run marathon distances on a field, well, six-man football is your game.

Take the video above as case-in-point. Waco Live Oak (Texas) Classical School faced off against Azle Christian (Texas) in a matchup of six-man powerhouses. With less than one minute remaining and the game tied 61-61 -- yes, that's 122 combined points in a regulation game -- Azle Christian got the ball with a chance to win.

The Fighting Crusaders proceeded to march down the field on a drive that at one point included three consecutive halfback pass attempts (only one was complete for a big gain) and, eventually, a desperation, 30-yard heave to the end zone.

That desperation heave landed in the hands of a Live Oak defender, who held on for an interception that gave Live Oak the ball at the 20 with 10 seconds left. On

There's more than just good luck that goes into an unlikely touchdown, but luck always has some part to play. Whether it's a pair of defenders tripping each other up, a fortuitous bounce or some other form of fate smiling on a receiver or running back (or quarterback, for that matter), there's always a little something more that separates unforeseen scores from the more traditional touchdowns that get punched in from inside the 10. There were a handful of those this week, plus more of the usual impressive highlights buried in the dregs of the Internet.

• Covin Conrady, Putnam City North (Okla.) vs. Moore (Okla.): Not only did Conrady find a way to pull in an amazing touchdown catch between two defenders, then somehow juke around both of them, the score also kept PCN above water in a game it had to win to stay in playoff contention. The Panthers did, barely, with a 42-40 squeaker sealed when it stopped Moore's two-point conversion attempt late. Still, it was Conrady's catch that will

T.C. Williams (Va.) High is one of the nation's most well-known football programs, thanks in large part to the cinematic success of Disney's "Remember the Titans." Still, with all that tradition built up, the school was missing out on the tradition most often connected with high school football: playing home games on Friday nights.

That all changed last week, when the Alexandria school trucked in temporary lights from Iowa to host a home game on a Friday night for the first time. According to the Washington Post, the high school, which first opened in 1965, has never had lights installed on its home field because of concerns from neighbors of the school and the cost associated with bringing in permanent lights. The team has played away games on Friday nights, but never had home games at night following a ban on night games in the 1969 season, a decision made by the Alexandria public school system to try and minimize vandalism and racial tension.

The game, in which Williams eased past

Being the starting running back on a high school football team is a big responsibility. Still, that's nothing compared to what North Dallas (Texas) High star Geremy Alridge faces every day when he leaves school, returning home expected to play a significant role in helping raise his younger siblings.

According to the Dallas Morning News' Matt Wixon, Alridge became the man of the house at only 8, when his stepfather Roderick Johnson lost a long battle with lupus. In one of his final days, Johnson reportedly pulled Alridge aside and told him it was now his responsibility to help take care of his mother and three siblings.

That's a lot to ask of an 8-year-old. Alridge has no relationship whatsoever with his birth father and was raised to think of Johnson as his father. He still thinks of him during games, pointing to the sky after each touchdown.

There have been plenty of those end-zone celebrations this year, with North Dallas riding a vastly improved core of senior leadership to the

When a former professional football player steps forward to volunteer as an unpaid assistant coach for a high school football program, the school usually asks what it can do to help. In the case of Denver North (Colo.) High, the school's football program is being told it can't open its doors to Vince Phason, who not only has a professional football past, but goes out of his way to make it to practice via public transportation in a wheelchair.

"It kills me that we can't have him out here with us," Denver North head coach E. Paul Kelly told the Denver Post. "The guy's done so many great things in football, and to take that away from these kids is ridiculous."

Phason was a starting defensive back in the Canadian Football League in the 1970s and '80s and is a former draft pick of the San Diego Chargers. The defensive back was a CFL All-Star and also played with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. He was paralyzed in an auto accident in 1998, and the 57-year-old travels everywhere in his

In many ways, Chris Donnelly is just like other highly respected high school football referees. Coaches give Donnelly high marks, they praise her ability to deftly navigate temper tantrums among coaches and quash concern over clock malfunctions. Yet something is notably different about the referee: Donnelly is a woman.

"They were calling me, 'Ms. Official,'" Donnelly told the Philadelphia Inquirer about coaches during a recent game. "People don't know what to call me. It's so funny."

According to Inquirer sports columnist Rick O'Brien, Donnelly, in her first years as a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association football official, is one of three women who help call games in the state's District 12. With some 110 total officials eligible, she and fellow female referees Valerie King Smith and Ruthy Rotimi make up less than 3 percent of the district's officiating work force.

While she's still considered new on the job, Donnelly has quickly gained respect for the way she handles