The Best of 2010: The 10 most amazing plays
It can be almost impossible to separate a great play from a one-of-a-kind, miraculous highlight. Yet that's what we're facing today, trying to cull just 10 phenomenal clips from a fantastic year of prep sports. It's not an easy job, but someone's got to do it, so here we go.
• 10) Brandon Brown's behind-the-back touchdown grab
Behind-the-back touchdown catch @ Yahoo! Video
The touchdown Brandon Brown pulled in for the Granite State (N.H.) Panthers early in the season was impressive enough to make any high school or collegiate star's highlight reel, but the most impressive thing about the touchdown was that it was the receiver's first.
• 9) Adrian Moore's seventh grade slam
The kid is still in middle school, but Adrian Moore has already vaulted onto our list with an acrobatic dunk that belies his age and experience, but perhaps not the tutelage he's receiving from Scottie Pippen.
• 8) Terrance Stubblefield's tip-drill TD catch
Terrance Stubblefield's Amazing Game-Winning Touchdown Catch @ Yahoo! Video
When Rogers (Wash.) High needed a big play in the closing moments of a game against Graham-Kapowsin (Wash.) High, they went to a deep route for Stubblefield. The receiver came through, though he needed a little help from a G-K opponent's helmet and another foe's fingertips on the tip-drill catch of the year.
• 7) Craig Billington's touchdown scramble
Genoa-Kingston (Ill.) High quarterback Craig Billington didn't just score a big touchdown during his team's victory against Burlington Central (Ill.) High, he may have scored the touchdown of the season, eluding all 11 defenders en route to what turned out to be the game-winning score.
• 6) Ashley Lowery's hurdle touchdown run
Kentucky recruit Ashley Lowery had earned his handful of plaudits before a highlight-grabbing run early this year, yet that's the play that will almost certainly define his entire football career. After all, hurdling a standing defender will tend to do that.
• 5) Dylan Frey's diving outfield catch
Lafayette (La.) High center fielder Dylan Frey was just trying to make a play when he made a desperate dive for a deep fly ball last spring. He ended up getting a lot more than that, with a key out in his team's state semifinal matchup against Barbe (La.) High and, eventually, the knowledge that he may have made the high school baseball play of the year.
• 4) Oscar Milton's off-the-mask hockey goal
He may not be American, but Oscar Milton is still a teenager, which makes the 17-year-old's phenomenal off-the-mask flip-in hockey goal from behind the cage in Swedish team Almtuna IS's victory over Nacka fully available for selection among the year's best plays. It certainly belongs there.
• 3) Trey Starks' dunk in opponent's face
Remember Vince Carter's slam over 7-foot-2 Frenchman Vladimir Weiss? Well, just in case you don't, Hillcrest (Mo.) High senior Trey Starks' slam directly over a 6-foot-6 foe from Joplin (Mo.) High was the closest thing we've seen to it on a high school court.
• 2) Butler's miracle kickoff return
Amazing, crazy end to football game @ Yahoo! Video
Stanford and Cal have "The Game," and now high school football has Butler (Ky.) High topping Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) on the final play of the game and a gutsy two-point conversion. Needless to say, it's now the game-ending prep kickoff return to which all future game-ending prep kickoff returns will be judged.
• 1) Driscoll Middle School trick play touchdown
The crafty Driscoll Middle School trick play was a viral web phenomenon for a reason. The fact that eighth-grade quarterback Jason Garza actually pulled off the brazen trick play only made the Driscoll touchdown even more memorable ... because it was always destined for either the best of the best or the top of the blooper reel.
And with that, the list is complete. Agree? Disagree? Let us hear it below. And don't hesitate to show us the worthy plays we missed or passed over for the 10 you see above.
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