Quote:
Originally Posted by TussAgee11
So the key to this enforcement is that the ball does not change possession until a) the defense secures possession or b) a kick crosses the line of scrimmage? And since a foul occurred before a change of possession, we enforce from either the spot if past the line of scrimmage or from the line of scrimmage if behind it?
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Possession changes when the other team possess the ball.
You are way off on your penalty enforcements. A down is divided into running plays and loose ball plays. A loose ball play includes free and scrimmage kicks, legal forward passes, and fumbles and backward passes in or behind the neutral zone. The action which precedes the fumble, pass, or kick is part of the loose ball play. Holding before a legal forward pass is thrown would be a foul during a loose ball play. All other plays are running plays. A down can have multiple plays. A kickoff (free kick) starts with a loose ball play then turns into a running play once the kick ends.
Knowing the type of play allows you to determine what the basic spot is. The basic spot for a loose ball play is the previous spot and for a running play it is the end of the related run.
Fouls by the offense behind the basic spot are penalized from the spot of the foul. Other fouls are penalized from the basic spot. This is called the all but one or 3 and 1 principle.
So this was a loose ball play, the foul was by the defense. Fouls by the defense are penalized from the previous spot.
NFHS rules pretty much always use this principle, while the NFL and NCAA have added more exceptions to it for the purpose of making it easier on the offense. Many times you will see holding in a NFL or NCAA game which occurs before a pass (during a loose ball play) behind the previous spot (basic spot) but the penalty is enforced from the previous spot.