[Rich]

Originally Posted by ajmc

For what it's worth, the SPECIFIC purpose for adding the 5 yard facemask foul was that NFHS concluded that "incidental" type interactions with a face mask were being routinely ignored because the severity of the penalty was not merited by the type of incidental contact.

Because NFHS wants to discourage any and all contact with the face mask, the 5 yard penalty was added to encourage penalizing less severe grasping of the mask. The "Penalty" description for NF: 9-4-3h differentiates between the two as, "incidental grasping-5 yards" and "grasping AND twisting, turning or pulling the face mask of helmet opening-15 yards".

And they could've simply eliminated the grasping as a foul. Now we have coaches screaming every time a hand touches the mask -- and that's NOT a foul.