NFHS: defense slaps ball as it is being snapped

[Winkley]

In NFHS, is it legal for the defense to slap the ball out of the snapper's hands as the ball is being snapped? I looked in the rules book and case book last night and found nothing addressing the issue.

This happened in my game last night. B was trailing with less than a minute to go with no time outs. The noseguard knocked the ball loose and recovered it. The officials huddled, and none of could see what had happened. As the U, I was obstructed and, although I knew what happened, I didn't see it.

Our referee invoked 1-1-6:

(ART. 6 . . . The referee has authority to rule promptly, and in the spirit of good sportsmanship, on any situation not specifically covered in the rules. The referee's decisions are final in all matters pertaining to the game)

and we ended up doing a "do over".

The defense tried it again on the next play, and I flagged them for encroachment. My LJ told me after the game that he was hoping I would call that. I was very hesitant to call it, though, because I didn't have the best angle to see if he was indeed in the neutral zone, although I'm sure he was.

I guess this could also be covered by 9-9-1:

SECTION 9 UNFAIR ACTS

ART. 1 . . . A player or nonplayer or person not subject to the rules shall not hinder play by an unfair act which has no specific rule coverage.

or 9-9-3:

ART. 3 . . . Neither team shall commit any act which, in the opinion of the referee, tends to make a travesty of the game.