is it possible

[The Roamin' Umpire]

Originally Posted by benbret

Team b is winning by 5 35-30. Team A scores on a pass and we have a live ball 15 yd foul and a dead ball 15 yard foul on A. B will take both penalties on the kickoff. During a missed try team A is charged with a 15 yard live ball foul. Team B will take this penalty on the kickoff. The score is now 36-35 Team A winning with 15 seconds left in the game. Can Team B kickoff from the 30, hope to get an on side kick inside the 20 and try a field goal to win the game.

I'm using NFHS rules here.

Note the bold section. Team B is going to enforce the live-ball foul and take the points off the board so that they're still WINNING 35-30.

But, let's assume that by "live ball 15 yd foul" you meant something penalized as a dead ball foul (i.e. nonplayer or unsportsmanlike). Then the first two penalties mentioned may be taken on the kickoff.

Now go to the underlined section. By rule (NF 8-3-6), this penalty must be declined - there is no option to carry it over to the kickoff.

But again, let's assume you meant something treated like a DBF. Then that penalty is also assessed on the kickoff.

If A kicks off, they're kicking from their own 6.25-yd line. If B elects to kick off, they're kicking from the opponents' 15. With 15 seconds left, I think B is smarter to make A kick and try to return it - the risk of a touchback is too high.

Now, if there's 5 seconds left, then maybe the onside makes sense - the clock will only start when/if the other team touches it. But, in this increasingly improbably scenario, A now has a very smart play to make - they should step offsides. This moves the kickoff to the 10. Now there's no way to recover the onside kick - if it goes 10 yards, then it's in the EZ for a touchback.

So, the short answer is: yes, it COULD happen. But it would be stupid.