Cheerleader felled by brutal pass to the face

A US high school cheerleader found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when she was felled by a brutal wayward pass during a gridiron match.

The unsuspecting teenager was standing on the sidelines with a number of her squad when play action broke down between the American Heritage Patriots and Florida rivals Hallandale.

Pursued by the opposing defence, the Patriots' quarterback overthrew a pass to a teammate and the ball sailed out across the sideline.

However, the quarterback did find an unexpected target when the ball crashed into the face of the cheerleader and knocked her to the ground.

But it seems she escaped serious injury after immediately bouncing straight back to her feet.

The miscued play though may have shaken up the quarterback with the Patriots being edged 27-20 on their home field.