stripedbuzzard
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
Good luck to all players, coaches, and fans for the upcoming season.
Every year during the off-season, the Football Rules Committee of the National Federation Of State High School Associations meets to discuss potentail rules changes for High School Football.
There are not many “noticeable” rules changes in High School Football for the 2010 season. Most of them are administrative that will hopefully have little effect on most games.
Here are some of the Major Rules Changes for 2010:
1. Sideline - Unintentional contact by a non-player with an official in the restricted area while the ball is live results in a 15 yard penalty for the first offense.
This is a rule that is mostly as a result of a lawsuit that took place in Texas. An official was working on the sideline and bumped into a coach. The coach sustained some injuries and then his insurance company sued the entire crew of officials. The officials ended up being awarded $400k for court costs, etc and the case was thrown out. Officials are asked to use common sense here, but we don’t want anybody (coaches, substitutes, players, or officials) being injured during the game.
2. Coin Toss – During the coin toss, all players must be off the field except the captains participating in the toss (no more than four per team)
This is due to the rise in intimidation type unsportsmanlike conduct acts that seem to be on the rise at upper levels.
3. Injured Players – Any player who exhibits sign of a concussion must be removed from the game and may not return until cleared by an appropriate health care professional.
This is a huge topic of discussion in all sports at all levels nationwide. The old rule was based on an unconcious player. Now they are finding out that concussions are sustained without losing conciousness. Coaches and Officials are being asked to scrutinize any behavior exhibited by a player that has signs related to a concussion.
4. Substitution – The time period with which replaced players must begin to leave the field has been defined as three seconds after the substitute arrives.
This is more of just a clarification of a philosophy/interpretation that has always been in place.
5. Horse Collar Tackle - modified to state that the player who is tackled does not need to be a runner when he comes to the ground.
Last year a Horse-Collar Tackle foul could not be called if the ball carrier fumbled in the process of the tackle. This year, it can be called in this situation due to this slight rule change clarification.
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stripedbuzzard
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
STM-Milbank – 2nd qtr 11:30
- Kickoff out-of-bounds. The receiving team has 3 options whenever the kicking team kicks the ball, untouched by the receiving team, out-of-bounds: Take the ball 25 yards from the previous spot (normally their own 35 yard-line), take the ball at the spot where it went out-of-bounds, or accept a 5-yard penalty from the previous spot resulting in a re-kick.
STM-Milbank – 2nd qtr :40
- Illegal formation was correctly called as a live ball foul and the penalty was declined. Since the runner was tackled in-bounds during the play, the clock was correctly next started on the Referee’s ready-for-play signal and not with the next snap. Even if the penalty had been accepted, the clock would have started on the RFP signal. This is different from NFL rules. If the runner would have run out-of-bounds or there was an incomplete pass, the clock would have started on the next snap.
Winner-TV
- Nothing to note. Unbelievable finish.
Other Observations
- There was some confusion throughout the games regarding enforcement for pass interference. Enforce from the spot of the foul? Enforce at the spot of the foul? 10 yard penalty? 5 yard penalty? 15 yard penalty? Mike H had it correct all weekend. It’s 15 yards from the previous spot and an automatic 1st down…always (unless the previous spot is inside the the defensive team’s 30 yard line – then it is half-the-distance to the goal from the previous spot). The reference for the defensive player to tackle the the receiver if you are beat was interesting!
- It was mentioned during one of the games Friday or Saturday that there was no foul for intentional grounding because the QB was “out of the pocket”. That is a rule in the NFL and college only. There can be intentional grounding outside of the pocket if the QB throws an otherwise legal forward pass and all other requirements for the foul are met.
- Not too many difficult situations during these games. The crews did a great job.
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stripedbuzzard
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Thanks to the SportsBuzzard staff for wanting to add some football officiating content to the site. If you have a rules question on any situations that you’ve seen throughout the season, please post them and I’ll do my best to answer the question. Judgment calls made by officials will not be subject to discussion since they are usually difficult to explain in writing and angles on the field are much different than angles in the stands.
High school football in South Dakota is played using the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Rules Book. There are many rules differences between the high school game, the college game, and the pro game. Some people tend to get their knowledge of football rules based off of what they see when watching NFL and College football. When applying that knowledge to the High School game, sometimes there are some differences that might create confusion when the officials in the high school game enforce a penalty or otherwise administrate the game differently than expected. Following are some differences off the top of my head that I’ve had the privilege of explaining during or after my games throughout the past several seasons.
- Intentional Grounding – tackle box/out-of-the-pocket
- Intentional Grounding is a foul that may occur anywhere behind the neutral zone under NFHS rules. If the passer’s intent is to prevent a loss of yardage (i.e. avoid a sack) then a foul for intentional grounding may be called if all other requirements for the foul are met. It is still a foul if the passer is out of the “pocket” (or “tackle-box”) or if the pass crosses the line-of-scrimmage.
- In the NFL and NCAA, the passer may legally ground the ball to avoid loss of yardage if he is out of the pocket and the pass crosses the neutral zone.
- Runner Down vs. Down By Contact
- Under NFHS rules, the runner (ball carrier) is down and the ball is dead once any part of his body other than his hand(s) or foot (feet) touches the ground and he has possession of the ball.
- “Down by contact” is an NFL term only in which the runner must be touched by an opponent and meet the above requirements.
- In all codes the ball is ruled dead once it is judged that the runner has been held so that his forward progress is stopped.
- Kicks Into The Receiving Team’s End Zone
- Under NFHS rules, the ball is dead and the ruling is touchback if the ball has the status of a kick (kickoff or punt) and breaks the plane of the receiving team’s goal-line (whether in flight or grounded). This is commonly noticed on a kick-off when the kicking team has a very good kicker and kicks the ball into the end zone. Even if the kick if muffed by the receiving team, and then subsequently breaks the plane of the goal-line, it is still a touchback. The ball’s status remains as a kick until either team gains possession.
- In the NFL and NCAA they may catch kicks in the end zone and return them provided other criteria are not met.
- Defensive Back – 5-yard Contact Zone
- There is no defensive back 5-yard contact area in games played under NFHS rules as there is in the NFL. Before a pass is thrown, a defensive back is allowed to contact an offensive player as long as the contact is not otherwise illegal and that offensive player is still a potential blocker. By interpretation, an offensive player is not a potential blocker once he has achieved the same yard-line (or beyond) as his opponent. It does not matter how far beyond the neutral zone the contact by the defensive player takes place—it is only illegal if the offensive player is no longer a potential blocker.
- Once a legal forward pass is thrown, and if that pass crosses the neutral zone, pass interference restrictions apply to the defense. Basically, the rules change for the defender once the ball is thrown.
- When all requirements are met, defensive holding is a foul before the ball is thrown no matter the relative position of both players.
- Ineligible Player Downfield on a Punt
- All players on the kicking team may go downfield anytime after the snap under NFHS rules.
- It is a foul in the NFL for ineligible receivers to be beyond the neutral zone before the ball is kicked.
- Taking Helmet Off in the Field of Play
- It is not a foul for a player to remove his helmet in the field of play under NFHS rules. It is a foul for unsportsmanlike conduct for any player to perform a delayed, excessive or prolonged act which attempts to focus attention upon himself.
- Next Spot on Missed Field Goal
- Missed field goals are treated the exact same as punts under NFHS rules. When a field goal attempt is missed, the next spot is determined by where the ball becomes dead. If the ball becomes dead in the non-kicking team’s end zone, the ruling is touchback and the next spot is the 20 yard-line (15 yard-line on an 80 yard field). If the kick rolls to a stop or goes out-of-bounds in the field of play, the next spot is wherever the ball becomes dead.
- For example, if a field goal attempt is well short and wide left and the ball bounces out of bounds at the 1 yard-line; absent of any fouls, the non-kicking team will next put the ball in play at their own 1 yard-line. If that ball bounced into the end zone, the ruling is a touchback, and the ball becomes dead and will next be put in play at the non-kicking team’s 20 yard-line. There is no provision for the ball to be placed at the previous spot if the kick is no good.
- Reporting as Eligible
- Under no circumstances may a player with an ineligible number report as an eligible receiver using NFHS rules. In the NFL, often times, linemen report as eligible so that the offense can line-up with stronger blockers in short yardage situations. This is the rule that allowed Warren Sapp to catch TD passes.
- For 11-man football, a player must be eligible by position and number. Eligibility by position means that the player must be positioned on the end of the line or as a back. Eligibility by number means that the player must be wearing any number other than 50-79 (so, 1-49 and 80-99 are eligible). If a player wearing #32 is lined up as an interior lineman, he is ineligible by position and it is a foul for him to touch a legal forward pass or to be downfield beyond the neutral zone when a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone. On the other hand, if a player wearing #74 lines up on the end of the line or as a back, he is ineligible by number and it would be a foul for him to touch a legal forward pass or be downfield beyond the neutral zone when a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone.
- In 9-man football there are no numbering requirements, but interior linemen are not eligible. #74 may legally catch a forward pass if he is an end or a back at the snap in 9-man football only.
- Any player with any number may catch or recover a backward pass and any player with any number may take a backward “handoff” and run with the ball anywhere on the field.
- Personal Fouls – Automatic First Downs
- There are only 4 fouls under NFHS rules for which the penalty includes an automatic first down. They are: Roughing the Passer, Roughing the Snapper, Roughing the Kicker/Holder, and Defensive Pass Interference.
- In the other rules codes, all personal fouls carry automatic first downs.
- If, for example, the offense is in a goal-to-go situation and the defense commits a personal foul, the penalty is half-the-distance to the goal (unless they are outside the 30) but there will not be an automatic first down unless the foul is one of the four mentioned previously.
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