Bench Player Ejected After Tackling Opponent Mid-Play in Tennessee High School Football Game [Video]

Fairview’s Gage Proctor had a clear path to the end zone before a Pleasant View Sycamore linebacker ran off the sideline to make an illegal tackle

A Tennessee high school football player shocked the crowd when he ran from the bench area to tackle a player who was returning an interception on Friday night. /

A routine high school football game turned extraordinary Friday night when a player came off the sideline to make a tackle in the middle of a live play.

What Went Down

The bizarre moment happened in the second quarter of a scoreless matchup between Tennessee foes Fairview and Pleasant View Sycamore. With the War Eagles driving near midfield, the Sycamore quarterback dropped back under heavy pressure and quickly tried to unload a pass toward the sideline. His intended receiver slipped, leaving Fairview junior cornerback Gage Proctor with an uncontested interception and a wide-open path to the end zone.

With a blocker alongside him, Proctor appeared destined to score untouched. But with 8:27 showing on the scoreboard, Sycamore senior linebacker Silvio Rizzo – who was not in on the play – suddenly ran in from the sideline and cut down Proctor’s legs. The clock stopped three seconds later as Proctor immediately turned to officials in protest.

After a brief huddle, officials ruled the play a touchdown under the rarely enforced “palpably unfair act” provision. Rizzo, who also plays running back, had registered one tackle and one carry for four yards earlier in the game, was flagged and ejected.

Video from the play where a player came from the sideline to make a tackle - which forced officials to award Fairview a TD following an interception. pic.twitter.com/sMvssljmkr

— Chris Brooks (@Brooks_615) September 27, 2025

Proctor went on to shine the rest of the night, finishing with a team-high 16 tackles, two interceptions, a touchdown and a pass deflection. Still, the Yellowjackets (4-2) couldn’t hold off Sycamore’s late surge. The War Eagles (4-2) connected on a touchdown pass in the final two minutes to erase a 30-24 deficit and escape with a 31-30 victory.

A Rare Play In History

What unfolded in Fairview is highly unusual – but not unprecedented. Similar incidents have occurred on bigger stages and remain etched in football history.

What happened in Tennessee on Friday night isn’t the first time a football game has been shaken up by someone leaving the sideline to interfere with a live play. Incidents like this are rare, but when they happen, they tend to live on in football lore.

The most famous example came in the 1954 Cotton Bowl, when Alabama’s Tommy Lewis jumped off the bench and tackled Rice running back Dicky Maegle in the middle of a long touchdown run. Officials awarded Maegle a 95-yard score anyway under what is now recognized as the “palpably unfair act” rule, and the bizarre play remains one of college football’s most unforgettable moments.

Just a few years earlier, in 1951, Chicago Bears lineman Ray Bray reportedly came off the sideline to bring down a Los Angeles Rams player after an interception. Unlike the Lewis case, officials at the time didn’t realize Bray wasn’t one of the 11 active players, so the tackle stood without penalty. Looking back, it’s often cited as one of the NFL’s strangest missed calls.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin once drew a $100,000 fine from the NFL for making contact with a Baltimore Ravens player during a live play. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

There have also been instances in the modern era that sparked heavy debate. In 2013, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was fined $100,000 for stepping onto the field during a Jacoby Jones kickoff return against the Baltimore Ravens. Tomlin didn’t make a tackle, but league officials ruled that his positioning could have altered the play.

Even as recently as 2022, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Darrell Taylor was caught on video leaving the sideline and throwing a block during a live turnover return against the Raiders. Officials missed the infraction during the game, but the clip, like Rizzo’s on Friday, spread widely on social media afterward.

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