Rule Clarification and Citation
 

Hello all -

I'm still learning the rules (my 1st year) and I wanted some help with a rule. I think I remember reading somewhere that in NFHS rules once a receiver catches the ball by the side/end line and is "forced-out" by a defender it's an incomplete pass since there isn't a "force-out" rule in HS.

Here's my question: do I remember right and if so what rule is it? I re-read all of Rule 7 (specifically Art. 5, where I thought it'd be) a number of times and still didn't see it. (There's always the possibility I still missed it.) :(

Could you give a rookie a little help, please?

Look at definition of a "catch" under rule 2


If a receiver would have completed the catch inbounds had the contact not occurred, it is a catch.

There is a new rule in the NFL this year that gets rid of the force out, but it is alive and well at the HS level. The rule is 2.4.1. As you'll see repeated here a lot - learn Rule 2!

Canadian Ruling
 

CANADIAN RULING:

Always a completed pass. They must still survive contact with the ground, however.

You have many guys NOT survive contact with the ground up there in Canada? That Canadian game is rougher than I thought. Or is it the frozen tundra you play on?:D

You have to learn rule 2 before any of the others.

I don't want to complicate matters but you also need to look at the direction the receiver was going at the time he was shoved out. Long story short, if he's running forward and is shoved out of bounds in the same direction you don't have a catch.

Probably should have said this in the OP, sorry.

The play I was thinking of the receiver was in the air drifting toward the sideline. He may have come down IB but was hit and ended up OOB. I know it's a HTBT but was just thinking about technically, according to the rules.

Thanks for all the replies.

If he only "may" have come down in bounds, call it incomplete. This rule is only for when you're sure he would have come down in bounds. The idea is not to give any advantage to the receiver, but rather to keep the defender from carrying an airborne receive out of bounds for a cheap incompletion.

I probably should have been a little more detailed with my answer but if the receiver is driven straight sideways or backwards OOB you can call it a catch if you think he would have come down inbounds but it's incomplete if he's heading down the field and driven out in the same direction.

It all comes down to judgment. Would he have came down inbounds had the contact not occurred?

Yes, even though he was in the air moving toward the sideline and forced out, I believe he would have come down inbounds if he had not been pushed by the defender.

So, am I correct in understanding that it should have been a complete catch?

We don't let just anyone in this country! :p

It's really a judgement call. The comments about moving toward the sideline or moving forward are rules of thumb. Normally, if the receiver is moving towards the sideline and gets a little extra shove, it's doubtful whether he would have been able to come down inbounds. If it's maybe yes, maybe no then it should be called incomplete. But if he's 5 yards inbounds and then gets pushed/shoved/carried out of bounds, and you feel confident that he certainly would have come down inbounds, then give him the catch.