We had a play at a freshman game recently that I hadn't had before. It is 4th down and 10 for K on their own 10 yd line. The punt is blocked and rolls from the field of play and comes to rest right on the pylon! The ball never crossed the sideline nor crossed the goal line it was a perfect stop in contact with the pylon.

What should the ruling be? And, where is the ruling stated in the rule book?

Thanks,
GH

You have a safety. The pylon is out of bounds in the endzone. Rule 2-4. So if the ball touches the pylon, the ball is both in the end zone, and out of bounds. The kick is the force that put the ball in the end zone, so it's a safety.

Rule 1-4 discussing the pylon, says "When properly placed, the goal line pylon is OOB's at the intersection of the sideline and the goal line extended." Therefor if it was a loose ball and the ball hit the front edge of the pylon, it did not break the plane of the goal line so it would be OOB's where it crossed the plane of the sideline (1/4 inch line). Thus 1-goal for B at the 1/4 inch line.

Now if the ball was in player possession and the player was in contact with the ground when the ball hit the pylon, we would have a TD or a safety depending. If the ball is in player possession and the runner is in contact with the ground at the time, the goal line is extended, and that is why we can have a TD.

[Edited by MJT on Oct 8th, 2005 at 09:05 PM]

Sorry, but I disagree MJT. The pilon is out of bounds IN THE END ZONE. If the ball touches the pilon, it has broken the plane.

Also see rule 4-3-2 - "If the ball touches a pylon, it is out of bounds behind the goal line."

You got me there! Safety. I was thinking along the lines of the goal line extended, which did not really apply to this.

Good question which got us in the book again, which is why this board can be such a great learning tool.

Hey guys, thanks for the input. I could have sworn that I found the ruling later word for word describing a blocked punt contacting the pylon being ruled as a safety. Despite how much I search the rule book now, I cannot find that exact wording. I see the rule 2-4 and I completely agree it is a safety, but I would love to find it again in the book where it states that contact with the pylon is out of bounds and dead in the endzone.

Thanks for your input again,
GH

Or I could just pay better attention to the reply that gave rule 4-3-2!

That is what I was looking for!! I know I will sleep better tonight.

GH

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