Penalty Enforcement.
 

So I was working my first JV as Referee, I usually work Head Linesman. Here is the play we had last night that we seemed to get confused on.

A 2 and 5 on B's 35. A1 rolls right and throws pass down field that is intercepted by B80 at about B's 25. B80 returned the ball all the way for a TD. While B80 was returning the interception B73 hit A22 about 30yds behind the play before the ball crossed the goal line. My umpire threw a flag on the hit for what he called unsportsmanlike unnecessary roughness.

How would you enforce the penalty for that foul?

15 Yards from the spot of the foul - no touchdown - remains B Ball 1 and 10

First thing's first...this is a personal foul, not unsportsmanlike conduct. The difference is significant because as you probably know, two USC fouls by a player in a game results in him being disqualified.

Since this is a live ball foul, the enforcement will be as Refsmitty says, 15 yards from the spot of the foul. 1st and 10 for B.

This is standard all but one enforcement. You have a foul by the offense (Team B is now the offense since they have possession of the ball) and it is behind the end of the run so you enforce from the spot of the foul.

There was contact, so it's a personal foul, not an unsportsmanlike penalty. If it happened during the return, it is a PF penalized from the spot (behind the end of the run). Because the unecessary roughness occurred well away from the run & did not affect the outcome, if there's any doubt whether the foul occurred during the return, I'd lean toward dead-ball. But because it was a live-ball foul by your description, you'd need to enforce the live ball foul from the spot & deal with one very displeased sideline.

That was kind of the way I was leaning and it is the way we enforced it, but had a discussion afterwards where we were second guessing ourselves.

Had the ball crossed the goal line making the ball dead, then the hit occurred we would have a dead ball foul. This would be penalized on the try, correct? Or would A have the choice of on the try or on the kickoff?

Thanks alot for the help guys.

*Changed to A instead of B to keep things clear. Thanks mbyron

Remember, for your play B is the team that scored: they keep their designation after the interception makes them the offense.

So, for your play, A would have a choice to enforce the penalty for a dead-ball, post-score foul by B, either on the try or on the ensuing kickoff.

Canadian Ruling
 

CANADIAN RULING:

No score.

After this COP, B retains what they legally gain. When the covering official sees the infraction, s/he finds the ball and notes Point Ball Held.

We'll go back 15 from there for the UR foul, Team B 1D/10.