K's 52 yard kickoff return for TD...
 

The first game of my 12th season started with a first for me.

Opening kickoff from K's 30 (8-man field). K1kicks low and hard, the ball bounces of of R1's helmet at R48 and rebounds back to K28 where K2 recovers and amidst R's confusion returns the ball 52 yards for a Touchdown.

Further proof that all the wierd stuff happens in Rule 6.

Am I missing something here???? :confused:

If R never had possession of the free kick then the ball should have become dead when/where K recovered it.

I'm not sure either.

6-1-5

6-4
Table 6-4
Free Kick
3.

Case Book 6.1-5 Situation A.

Ball dead where K recovers the muff.

Did you apply the rule about recovering scrimmage kicks behind the neutral zone to a free kick?

Hopefully that will also be the last for you, as allowing the TD to stand is a MAJOR botch. All free kicks are dead as soon as they are caught/recovered by K. Also, I hope it was more than 52 yards from the K-28 to R's end zone.

Since this was an 8 man game, I'm assuming the field was 80 yds x 40 yds.

He said it was an 8-man game, probably played on an 80-yard field.

There was such an error in a big school conference game locally here 2 years ago. I cringed in horror watching the highlights. I do not understand how a crew of 5 people allow K to score without any questions being asked. As the WH, I'd be asking the covering official, "Did R ever possess that ball?"

We had one similar here a couple years ago and the R insisted it was a TD and his crew couldn't talk him out of it.

Why didn't the covering official kill the play at the time K recovered the muff?

I know my crew is tired of hearing me go over this, but we cover this *every week* in our pregame.

I don't know. Maybe after he thought about it he realized the ball should have been dead at the spot of K's recovery.

Well that was exactly how the crew conference went. JV game, 4 officials, I was R, being 40+ yards away from everything, I thought I knew what happened, but because I wasn't sure, I let the play come at me, and whne K crossed the goal line I signalled touchdown for about a half of second and then just the kill clock signal. I called the crew together. U and HL said that since the ball was recovered behind K's restraining line they could advance. LJ said since R touched it K could could advance, but everybody told him he was wrong. So after about 2 minutes of conference, with me saying ball is dead where K recovers on a free kick, and they arguing opposed, with both teams lining up for the PAT, I regretfully allowed the majority to win out. In the parking lot before we left we read rule 6, and I've prepared a pre-game quiz for this Friday on kicking situations.

So short of having a rule-book on field, which I think tacky, how would you have handled differently, and how would you let the conversation play out. I can honestly say, on a Friday night, I would have argued the point until either the lights went out or the state observer came out of the stands and said, play-on boys.

~Sigh~
 

If you are the WH then nut up and take charge of the situation.

Run your crew Rev.

T

You were the WH? Well, as Tim said, nut up and take charge. That TD doesn't score if *you* don't allow it to score.

Yep, this is not a democracy. Just ask my white hat.