Kick play

[Robert Goodman]

Kicking a live loose ball is not "a kick" as defined in the major codes. Except in Canadian football, where it would be a dribble or flying kick (which cannot score a goal), the status of the ball would remain a backward pass (the snap) which has been given new impetus forward by team A. The snap has ended legally, so no problem there. K1 has committed illegal kicking of a ball during what would be a loose ball play in Fed, a running play in NCAA. The anomaly exists in NCAA that there is no "related run", the ball not having been possessed since it left the snapper's hands, but since the ball was probably never behind where it was kicked from, who cares? So in Fed if the penalty were accepted, A would repeat the down at B's 25, while in NCAA it would be loss of down & 10 yds. from the spot of the foul. If the penalty is declined, touchback.

In Canadian football, no penalty per se and the ball remains live. However, since 2010 in amateur football, if the resulting offside pass is not completed by an onside player of the kicking team, the receiving team has the option of having the down count with kicking team in possession at the spot of the kick.