I am in my second year as an official in football. This year I joined an association for football. They do not assign games but have speakers each week talk about game situations. It is also a place to talk about plays I may have had in my game that I have questions on.
At the last meeting one of the board members took a group of us that they considered new off to the side and were explaining some basic High School Federation rules.
He said unlike NFL rules that the spot of the ball when a player in possesion of the ball knee touches the ground is where the knee touches the ground and not the formost point of the ball. I looked though the rule book and can not prove his point.
Is he right?
My crew chief disagrees and says it's the foremost point of the ball when the knee touches the ground.

[Edited by collinb on Sep 5th, 2004 at 03:23 PM]

Knee? Are you sure you heard correctly? You should have asked him what happens if the knee doesn't touch the ground.

Crew Chief is Correct
 

Sounds like your speaker was giving bad advice.

The relevant rule is 2-40-3:

"The dead-ball spot is the spot under the foremost point of the ball when it becomes dead by rule."

In your case of the runner's knee hitting the ground, the ball becomes dead when his knee hits the ground. The dead-ball spot then is the foremost point of the ball at the moment his knee touched the ground.

-SW---

Hiss knee, or any other part of the body except the hand or foot. Remember that the runner can put the ball to the ground also.