Enforcement
 

A18 gains 6 yards on a play where B34 commits a personal foul 15 yards beyond the neutral zone>
What is the correct enforcement?

Ask yourself:
What's the basic spot on a running play?
Where did this foul occur in relation to the basic spot?

Canadian Ruling
 

CANADIAN RULING:

Tack on 15 to the end of the play, along with an AFD.

You would also need to know where on the field this was, it could be 1/2 the distance to the goal.

But either way you are enforcing this foul from the end of the run...

For a little twist in the play for you surehands, where would the enforcement be if there was a 6 yard loss on the play?

Are we sure it's a running play?

Even if it is, a foul by live-ball foul by B during the down always has the same enforcement, regardless of where relative to the basic spot it occurred. The second question is a bit of a red herring.

That was my point with the second question :) Just trying to help them understand the logic...

Still end of run! But since its a live ball, repeating the down..assuming the 15, or half the distance did give you a first down.

PF is not an automatic first down in NFHS?

Nope...which is surprising to me. Roughing the passer/kicker/holder/snapper are auto first downs.

This is probably the most common mistake I hear from my broadcaster colleagues. More than a handful of times I have heard other radio guys doing NFHS games say "automatic first down on the personal foul" when, even if the yardage gives them the first down, it is not automatic.

*sigh*

To be fair, more often than not, it does result in a first downs...plus people more aptly know NFL/NCAA rules. Another one of the reasons why I'm glad Texas plays under NCAA rules. Welpe will back me up on this. ;) I'm actually surprised that, with NFHS being the most safety conscious of all the rule sets, doesn't make all defensive PF's auto first downs as PF's tend to be safety related.

I thought it was an automatic first down because the loud mouth running the PA said it was......

Probably for the same reason they don't make offensive PFs LD.

You need to study the All But One Principle.

All fouls by the defense are penalizing from the basic spot.
It makes no difference where the foul occurs.
Learn where the basic spot is for running plays and for loose ball plays.

And defensive pass interference.