Okay I get the Play of the Day, you can signup here-> http://www.nafoa.net/PlayOfTheDay1.htm





A fight breaks out between several opposing players and: (a) two substitutes from each team come onto the field; or (b) one substitute of A enters and three enter from B's team box.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________________________________________
Ruling: In (a), both substitutes are disqualified and the penalties offset. In (b), the one 15-yard penalty on A will cancel one by B resulting in two 15-yard penalties on B. In both cases, penalties and disqualification also will be assed to those who where fighting. (9.8.1)Casebook (2.11; 9.4.1)Rulebook


My question, do the penalties really offset? I thought they don't :/

I believe its NCAA that uses the “offsetting “ terminology. Federation rules dictate that these fouls are enforced in the order of occurrence. This could be very important if you’re enforcing inside the 30 where 1/2 the distance to the goal line comes into play.

REPLY: Jim, I had the same thought when I read the POTD this morning. The only thing I could come up with to defend the Federation (and you know what lengths I go to to defend them!<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_215.gif' alt='Smarty' border=0></a>), is that they mean that the <u>yardage</u> associated with the penalties "cancels" even though the fouls themselves don't.

James, that's what I thought, just the POTD threw me off here.

Who you callin Jim? :p That's what I figured, and they definitely need to clean that one up.

REPLY: Actually snake-eyes...I was responding to <u>Jim</u> Neil's post right before mine. I would never call you "Jim."

Maybe "Clyde" or "Irving" ... but not Jim!

Fair enough. Cylde/Irving ain't too bad of names. Even though he looks like a James to me. ;)

NFHS wants all unsportsmanlike penalties to be enforced. Rule 10-2-1 on double fouls that cancel specifically excludes unsportsmanlike and nonplayer fouls and 10-2-3 states that "ALL" unsportsmanlike fouls are to be administered.

Now it can look pretty sloppy and requires some use of timing to do it correctly. For each foul there is a fifteen-yard walkoff or if a half-the-distance, the distance penalized. The fouls are enforced in order of occurrence which means you must establish among the crew the time of each foul and enforce in that order. I always try to avoid a half-the-distance situation when the number of fouls between the teams is even by giving the order to move the ball away from a half-the-distance situation.

The best I can figure for properly enforcing and communicating why you are walking from and to the same spot is to signal after each walkoff and somehow let the noisemaker in the pressbox know why it is being done that way.

There is no way you can walk off this play and be even, it's not fair. I understand they want all USCs to be walked off but in this scenario I'm not moving the football.