The time that I completed a pass to my right tackle — Ken McIntosh — for a first down, but the refs did not catch it

Miami's Robert Hunt took it to the House on Thursday … but one problem

… 57 years ago, but I still recall the details

As the years pass, our memories become foggy — or often embellished. In this case, a few details are foggy — but the gist of the story remains clear in my mind. 

I do not, for instance, remember who we were playing, but it was the Lilly High School Red Raiders playing at the War Memorial Field on a Saturday afternoon. 

What reminded me of this day was a play made by an offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins last night in a game against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, Robert Hunt caught a pass and sprinted to the end zone and did a back flip over the goal line for a touchdown. 

Except that it did not count. 

Linemen are not allowed to catch a pass and advance it unless they are lined up as an eligible receiver — on the end of the line — and unless they report to the official who notifies the opposing team. 

Our play was not quite as spectacular as Robert Hunt’s, but for some reason, we did not receive a penalty and it counted for a first down. 

Here are the particulars. 

The screen pass

Again I cannot remember who were playing, though it could have been Laurel Valley, a game we won to even our record at 2-2. 

What is important here is that players could wear any numbers. Today, linemen must wear numbers between 50 and 79. Back then, though the backs usually had numbers from 10 to 40, you wore whatever jersey fit you. 

I have no idea what number Kenny McIntosh wore, but I am certain that it was a lineman’s number. So, how did he happen to catch the ball?

First, it was a screen pass, so that answers part of the question. I rolled to the left, behind the left tackle, while the end, tackle, and guard pulled to the right. Our tailback, Francie Glenn, started to block the defensive end and then went out behind the linemen to catch the short pass. 

However, when I threw the pass to Francie, Ken turned around and grabbed it and took off up the field. I think that he ran about eight to ten yards, and I remember that we picked up a first down on the play [if it was Laurel Valley, we won the game something like 26 or 27 to 20. So, that could have been a big play. 

I am a little fuzzy about that point.

Returning to the huddle

After Ken came running back to the huddle, I expected to see a red flag [they used those instead of yellow ones.] 

Surprisingly, there was no flag. 

When Kenny came back, Francie said, “Huck, you can’t catch that pass.”

I told him to keep quiet and quickly called the next play. Because they were using just three officials, we probably got away with one for that reason. 

So, even though Ken did not have a Robert Hunt made for TV moment, his catch was much more important. We made a first down, and more important, we won that game — I think. 

And the refs never picked up on it. 

Seriously. On that point, I am not fuzzy. 

Never told my dad

My father, who was an outstanding college and high school official, never saw our games because he was still working college games on Saturday afternoon, when this was played. As I think about it, I am not certain that I ever told him about that play. 

Part of that may have been because I never wanted to criticize officials in his presence, though I occasionally did. I am not certain. 

However, I am certain that our right tackle picked off one of my passes and carried it for a first down without the officials noticing that it was a tackle. 

Love it.