Things that only happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays

[The Roamin' Umpire]

Originally Posted by mcrowder

Surely your rules for IP and IS don't say anything about whether a player is on his side or the opponent's side of the ball

Believe it or not...

NFHS 3-7-5 states "An entering substitute shall be on his team's side of the neutral zone when the ball is snapped or free kicked." Failing to do this is a 5-yard live-ball foul for IS.

Now, on this particular play, I'd say the person in question is NOT a substitute, since he was never replaced. Therefore, in the original situation, I concur with the encroachment call.

Note that under NFHS rules, substitutes cannot commit encroachment - 7-1-6 (the encroachment rule) specifies a "player."