K is lined up in a free kick formation on their 40 yd line. K12's kick is a line drive that hits R50, who is on the 50 yd line, in the shoulder pads and bounces nearly straight up in the air. The ball never breaks the plane of R's free kick line. As the ball comes down, several K players block R50 and R25 from catching the ball, while K18 catches the ball in flight on K's 48 yard line and is downed there.

Note: the ball never went past R's free kick line and never touched the ground.

Ruling?

The touching of the ball by R makes the rest of what happened on this play legal.

NF
7-5-6 . . . While any free kick is in flight in or beyond the neutral zone to the receiver s goal line or any scrimmage kick is in flight beyond the neutral zone to the receiver s goal line, K shall not touch the ball or R, unless blocked into the ball or R or to ward off a blocker, nor obstruct R s path to the ball. This prohibition applies even when no fair-catch signal is given, but <b>it does not apply after a free kick has been touched by a receiver</b>, or after a scrimmage kick has been touched by a receiver who was clearly beyond the neutral zone at the time of touching.

It is K's ball on K-48 where K gained possession of the ball as they can't advance the kick.

It hit the receiver who was at his own 50 and you are not deeming that to be crossing the Team B restraining line?????

Course it really does not matter cause if the receiver had stepped forward to the Team A 49 and that line drive hit him, it would still be a free ball.

Any thoughts on the legality of the two K players who are "blocking" R players away from the ball? Obviously, once R touches the ball it can be caught/recovered by K, but could K be flagged for holding (per 9-2-3c)?

REPLY: Not if they're truly "blocking" as defined in Rule 2. Holding is holding. Blocking is something different. I would not call it holding unless someone was <u>grabbed</u> or <u>hooked</u> and <u>restrained</u> from moving toward the ball. While the NCAA does prohibit K's blocking until they're eligible to touch the ball, Fed has no rule against.

and in this play (NCAA), Team A (K) is eligible to touch the ball anyway so they can legally block opponents off the ball. They can't hold but they can legally block.

R blocked into first touching a kick
 

What happens on a play like this?

Team A’s scrimmage kick is at rest at the B-30, when receiver B4 is blocked by A14 and forced to touch the ball. A10 recovers the ball at the B-31.

I understand that the kickers can't block R away from the ball but how about pushing him into the ball?

Is this kick catching interference?

Thanks

I think I answered my kick question
 

Ruling: RB 6.2.4, “…provided such kick has been touched by a receiver who was clearly beyond the neutral zone at the time of touching. Such touching is ignored if it is caused by K pushing or blocking R into contact with the ball …. Such catch or recovery by K beyond the neutral zone causes the ball to become dead. R should not lose possession of the ball because of an act by K. The touching by R is ignored and R can have the ball at the spot of first touching or where the ball became dead. B’s ball, 1/10 @ B-30.

Thank you to the MULTI-COUNTY FOOTBALL
OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION in Atlanta for their excellent website!

Re: R blocked into first touching a kick
 

Stop right there. If the kick is at rest, the ball is dead. Receivers take over 1/10 at that spot.

How about this twist re: an onside kick? NF
 

You people are so helpful to a new person like me. Thank you so much! I hope that you don't feel like you are taking my exam for me, its just that some of these scenarios require alot more experience than a rookie has to offer.

NF Case scenario: On an onside kickoff from the A-40, A82 muffs the rolling ball at the A-48, and then falls on the ball at the A-49. After A82 muffed the ball, B51 spun him around by his facemask at the A-48, but A82 was still able to recover the ball there.

I think I read that Ruling 6.1.1 establishes the free kick lines as: the 40 yard line for team A and the 50 yard line for team B. (“These lines are always 10 yards apart"). Rule 6.1.6 states “If any kicker touches a free kick before it crosses R’s free-kick line and before it is touched there by any R player, it is referred to as “first touching” of the kick.” R may take the ball at the spot of first touching, ....

I understand this to mean that it will be B’s ball at the A-48.

However the last sentence says, "The right of R to take the ball at the spot of first touching by K is canceled if R touches the kick and thereafter during the down commits a foul or if the penalty is accepted for any foul committed during the down."

So does that mean it is A's ball @ A-49?

I'm sorry to be so voluminous.

Re: How about this twist re: an onside kick? NF
 

Proper designations should be K and R, not A and B.

The facemask foul is a loose-ball foul. If K accepts the penalty, enforcement is from the previous spot (in this case K's 40), and the free-kick down will be replayed from R's 45. If the penalty is declined it would, indeed, be R's ball on K's 48.

Canadian Ruling
 

A believe a free kick is the Americana term for a kick-off.

If so, once the ball touches B or is touched by B, all action is legal. K blocking R is legal and K catching the ball is legal.

I saw this happen in a pop warner game a couple years ago. The kicker kicked a low line drive that bounced off the middle up man's helmet and flew directly back to a K player who caught it in the air.