I still think this is the toughest call in youth foootball. Yesterday I had this situation again! 4th down and long. The QB is under center,after receiving the snap QB throws a backward pass to a A2. As soon as A2 catches the pass he is contacted by B1. A2 is able to get the punt off without B2 touching the ball, B2 continues tackling and takes A2 to the ground. I drop a flag for roughing and proceed to get a new earhole from penalized coach!! My explanation is : he is still afforded the protection of a punter if he is attempting to kick the ball thus the flag.

He was contacted as he caught the ball and still got the punt off? That's one helluva a kicker!

If he was contacted before the punt, he was a runner and there's no foul.

If the contact is avoidable, it's roughing.

Sounds like yours wasn't.

Under NCAA rules you did not have a scrimmage kick formation therefore there can be no running or roughing the kicker calls. Apparently Fed does not have a similar rule?

That was debated on this forum last season.

You did not have a roughing the kicker because as I understand from your post the ball had not been kicked when contact was first made.

A player becomes a kicker once he kicks the ball. Therefore, until the ball is physically kicked there is no special protection. That comes from a ruling by Rogers Redding.