[kentref]

Kentref don’t forget that 9-3-5b says catch or recover a loose ball, which he may legally touch or possess. K is legally allowed to touch a kicked ball beyond the expanded neutral zone. The rules do not say that K must retain possession of the ball when the play is over.
Dale Smith

[/B][/QUOTE]

You are correct on the rule language. My point, which I probably could have expressed better in the first place, is that on this play, because K first touched the ball, unless R fouls, R is going to have the option to take the ball at the spot of first touching (or any other spot of "first touching"). Therefore, there is no advantage gained by K making a block in the back or some other forced effort to get to the ball. This, in my opinion, is simply a situation where, (if you don't deem the BIB a foul), K is getting a "free shot" at an R player.
Having said all that, it appears that the NFHS needs to look at the language in 9-3-5b and further clarify the "legality" of BIB, etc. after the ball is "first touched." It's a safety thing for me. K may have a "right" to touch the ball, but after it has been "first touched" once, the other "first touching" spots are really not in K's best interest unless they are behind the first spot of "first touching," (to keep the ball from going into the end zone for example. For example, if a second spot of first touching is 10 yards further upfield, then K has just given R an extra 10 yards. Therefore, why does K need to make such an effort to get to the ball?
You can argue either side here and technically be right, but I'd still prefer to err on the side of player safety.