Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you conclusive proof of why it is never a good idea to kick, punt or otherwise force a football to travel through the air when facing a 40-mph wind.
The video you see above, courtesy of Farmington (Minn.) High School and the Farmington Independent, comes from a Section 1AAAAA playoff game on Tuesday night between Farmington and Lakeville North (Minn.) High School. Lakeville North cruised to a 39-14 victory in the game, but the contest was more notable for being played in conditions that included gusts of wind that reached 40 mph. The kickoff above was the most glaring example of the wind's distortion on the game, as a strong boot from Lakeville North's kicker only got the ball 12 yards behind the original line of scrimmage.
That's right, the game's second kickoff technically accounted for minus-12 yards, and the kicks that followed later in the game were equally fluky. With Lakeville North holding a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, the two teams traded punts that travelled the following distances, in succession: 15 yards, 28 yards, 39 yards, 2 yards and 18 yards. Later in the game, a kickoff sailed through the uprights. If that had been a legal field goal, it would have counted as a 70-yarder.
