New Rules for 2015
 

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High School Football Rules Changes
Continue Focus on Risk Minimization


INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 13, 2015) — In its ongoing effort to minimize the risk of injury in high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee expanded the provisions of unnecessary roughness to include contact with a defenseless player.

This revision in Rule 9-4-3g was one of six rules changes recommended by the Football Rules Committee at its January 23-25 meeting in Indianapolis. These changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The revised rule now reads, “No player or non-player shall make any contact with an opponent, including a defenseless player, which is deemed unnecessary or excessive and which incites roughness.”

Bob Colgate, director of sports and sports medicine at the NFHS and editor of the NFHS football rules, noted that an example would be when a defensive player who is not in the vicinity of the ball is “blindsided” by a blocker on the offensive team.

Another change with a focus on risk minimization is a revision of the spearing rule – one of several examples of illegal helmet contact listed in Rule 2-20. Spearing is now defined as “an act by any player who initiates contact against an opponent at the shoulders or below with the crown (top portion) of his helmet.”

With “targeting” now defined as contact to an opponent above the shoulders, the committee more clearly defined “spearing” as contact to an opponent at the shoulders or below. Colgate said the implementation of the first spearing rule in 1971 has played a significant role in reducing injury in high school football.

“The committee spent considerable time discussing and clarifying expectations related to contact involving any player that is deemed excessive or unnecessary – including spearing – that may occur during play,” said Brad Garrett, chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. “Minimizing risks to players involved in these situations must remain at the forefront of the game.”

In other changes, the rules committee revised the 2014 rule change regarding free-kick formations. A new Rule 6-1-4 was added to state that the timing of the foul for not having at least four players on each side of the kicker now occurs when the ball is kicked.

A change also was made in the listing of penalties in Rule 9-4, Illegal Personal Contact. Beginning next season, an automatic first down will not be awarded for a 5-yard incidental face mask penalty against the passer. Previously, this violation was included in the penalty for roughing the passer, which calls for a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

The rules committee also approved new language in Rule 10-2-5 regarding the enforcement of dead-ball fouls. The distance penalty for unsportsmanlike, non-player or dead-ball personal fouls committed by teams can offset. Equal numbers of 15-yard penalties by both teams will cancel and remaining penalties may be enforced.

The final change approved by the Football Rules Committee related to a series of downs. A new Rule 5-1-1b will read as follows: “The referee shall have authority to correct the number of the next down prior to a new series of downs being awarded.”

A complete listing of all rules changes is available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page, and select “Football.”
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Peace

How is that a change? Hasn't that been illegal, with the same penalty, for a long, long time? All this diddling about "defenseless" players adds nothing to an understanding of long standing.
Whew! I was afraid for a while they were too enamored of their cleverness in devising a different rule from NCAA's to change that. You'd think someone would catch on, though, to the opp'ty to eliminate the inequity if a team is short a player, by specifying a maximum of 6 on either side rather than a minimum of 4.

Long overdue.

I wish they had gone a step further and emulated NCAA by offsetting all dead ball fouls regardless if they match up or not. A good change though.

This is one of the areas where I actually prefer the FED enforcement, personally. If Team A commits 3 separate dead-ball fouls, and Team B only commits 1, why shouldn't Team A be penalized?

What would you think of ignoring 5-yarders, and counting only 15-yard penalties, when a combination of fouls penalizable by 5- and 15-yd. penalties is committed by one or both teams in a dead ball interval?

Also, making the interval during which fouls could occur and then be offset as beginning with the 1st 15-yarder and ending as soon as the net distance is walked off (or indicated as 0)?

The only 5-yard fouls I can think of when the ball is dead are either pre-snap (think false start) or substitution. To me, those all fall in a completely different category from any of the UNS, non-player, or dead-ball personal foul type things.

Encroachment, equipment, elopement, or excitement. (By "elopement" I mean substitution, by "excitement", I mean false starting.)
Same for me, and that's why I wonder if you'd go for changing the rules to ignore such violations if followed by a personal foul or UC.

I don't see where they're offsetting 15's with 5's:
"Equal numbers of 15-yard penalties by both teams will cancel and remaining penalties may be enforced."

Nobody here said they were. They're adding them algebraically. I'm just wondering if it'd be better to ignore 5 yarders when the same or opposing team commits one or more 15 yarders in the same interval.

I only prefer NCAA's way because it is more straight forward. Both teams screwed up, nobody benefits.

I agree. Plus if there is some kind of skirmish and 4 guys from one team are involved and 2 from the other, are we going to have 6 flags down because of the inequity?

This very rarely happens anyway so I'm not that worried about it. I just didn't see the need for the extra complexity of offsetting equal numbers. If one team commits 3 live ball balls and other commits 1 they are offset entirely.

I agree with TheUmp, The NFHS is better on this one
 

+1
The NFHS still believes no foul should go unpunished.
(Yes, I realize their are situations where a foul does go unpunished so go ahead and save your list of examples.)
In my opinion, this re-write cleans up what many felt created an "Inside the 30" imbalance.

Additionally, while the NCAA logic of "lets just offset everything and get out of this mess" works for the NCAA, it is NOT a part of NFHS Football.:cool:
For this reason only even numbered dead ball fouls shall offset in NFHS

Then why would you advocate ignoring the 5-yarders?

PLAY: Player A-68 commits a false start, after which B-79 and A-55 each commit DBPFs. RULING: ??

Even though the DBPFs now offset, why ignore the FS?

I could see the ignore the 5 mentality on live ball fouls -- a 5 yard facemask shouldn't offset a chop block, for instance. Doesn't the NFL have such a provision?

I do not believe so. But then again the NFL does not have many 5 yard live ball fouls.

Peace

To emphasize the importance of the rule against personal fouls. Like, the personal fouls were such an issue, let's forget about the false start.

At least one major code takes that attitude regarding 5- & 15-yd. penalties for live ball fouls. How about extending it to dead ball fouls?

Incorrect !!!
 

I hope you don't mind me correcting your little oversight but, actually Rut,

The NFL has thirty-three (33) 5-yard fouls, twenty-six (26) of which are live ball fouls. Only seven (7) NFL five yard penalties are dead ball fouls.

Summary of Penalties

Automatic First Down

1. Awarded to offensive team on all defensive fouls with these exceptions:

(a) Offside.

(b) Encroachment.

(c) Delay of game.

(d) Illegal substitution.

(e) Excessive time out(s).

(f) Incidental grasp of facemask.

(g) Neutral zone infraction.

(h) Running into the kicker.

(i) More than 11 players on the field at the snap.

Five Yards Live ball, 5-Yard fouls are listed in BLUE font for your convenience

1. Defensive holding or illegal use of hands (automatic first down).

2. Delay of game on offense or defense.

3. Delay of kickoff.

4. Encroachment.

5. Excessive time out(s).

6. False start.

7. Illegal formation.

8. Illegal shift.

9. Illegal motion.

10. Illegal substitution.

11. First onside kickoff out of bounds between goal lines and untouched or last touched by kicker.

12. Invalid fair catch signal.

13. More than 11 players on the field at snap for either team.

14. Less than seven men on offensive line at snap.

15. Offside.

16. Failure to pause one second after shift or huddle.

17. Running into kicker.

18. More than one man in motion at snap.

19. Grasping facemask of the ball carrier or quarterback.

20. Player out of bounds at snap.

21. Ineligible member(s) of kicking team going beyond line of scrimmage before ball is kicked.

22. Illegal return.

23. Failure to report change of eligibility.

24. Neutral zone infraction.

25. Loss of team time out(s) or five-yard penalty on the defense for excessive crowd noise.

26. Ineligible player downfield during passing down.

27. Second forward pass behind the line.

28. Forward pass is first touched by eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds and returned.

29. Forward pass touches or is caught by an ineligible receiver on or behind line.

30. Forward pass thrown from behind line of scrimmage after ball once crossed the line.

31. Kicking team player voluntarily out of bounds during a punt.

32. Twelve (12) men in the huddle.

10 Yards

1. Offensive pass interference.

2. Holding, illegal use of hands, arms, or body by offense.

3. Tripping by a member of either team.

4. Helping the runner.

5. Deliberately batting or punching a loose ball.

6. Deliberately kicking a loose ball.

7. Illegal block above the waist.

15 Yards

1. Chop block.

2. Clipping below the waist.

3. Fair catch interference.

4. Illegal crackback block by offense.

5. Piling on.

6. Roughing the kicker.

7. Roughing the passer.

8. Twisting, turning, or pulling an opponent by the facemask.

9. Unnecessary roughness.

10. Unsportsmanlike conduct.

11. Delay of game at start of either half.

12. Illegal low block.

13. A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent.

14. Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily.

15. A punter, placekicker, or holder who simulates being roughed by a defensive player.

16. Leaping.

17. Leverage.

18. Any player who removes his helmet after a play while on the field.

19. Taunting.

Five Yards and Loss of Down (Combination Penalty)

1. Forward pass thrown from beyond line of scrimmage.

10 Yards and Loss of Down (Combination Penalty)

1. Intentional grounding of forward pass (safety if passer is in own end zone). If foul occurs more than 10 yards behind line, play results in loss of down at spot of foul.

15 Yards and Loss of Coin Toss Option

1. Team’s late arrival on the field prior to scheduled kickoff.

2. Captains not appearing for coin toss.

15 Yards (and disqualification if flagrant)

1. Striking opponent with fist.

2. Kicking or kneeing opponent.

3. Striking opponent on head or neck with forearm, elbow, or hands whether or not the initial contact is made below the neck area.

4. Roughing kicker.

5. Roughing passer.

6. Malicious unnecessary roughness.

7. Unsportsmanlike conduct.

8. Palpably unfair act. (Distance penalty determined by the Referee after consultation with other officials.)

15 Yards and Automatic Disqualification

1. Using a helmet (not worn) as a weapon.

2. Striking or purposely shoving a game official.

Suspension From Game For One Down

1. Illegal equipment. (Player may return after one down when legally equipped.)

Touchdown Awarded (Palpably Unfair Act)

1. When Referee determines a palpably unfair act deprived a team of a touchdown. (Example: Player comes off bench and tackles runner apparently en route to touchdown.)

PLAY: A 3/3 from the B16 yard line. Player B-68 encroaches, after which B-79 and A-55 each commit DBPFs.

You want to ignore the encroachment & deprive A of a new series?

The NFL rule is that a "simple 5" penalty (5 yard penalty with no automatic first down / loss of down component) will not offset a 15 yard penalty committed by the other team.

More completely put, on a double foul with no COP, with a simple 5 yard penalty (no auto first/loss of down/10 second run off) and the other penalty being a major penalty (15 yards), the 5 yard penalty is disregarded and the 15 yard penalty is enforced from the previous spot. If this occurs on a scoring play, the score is canceled and the penalty is enforced from the previous spot. The combination can be dead/dead, live/live or live/dead.

Yes, the idea being that that's unimportant & can be forgotten about once there are major fouls.

That's ludicrous on it's face. A new series in the opponent's red zone could well be the difference between winning or losing. Certainly that trumps "major fouls".

Not necessarily. The 15 yds. are given out for stuff that either compromises safety or sportsmanship, so this'd be a statement that safety & sportsmanship are more important than winning or losing.

I still don't understand why the illegal formation on the kickoff is not live ball. Same as illegal formation on a play from scrimmage.

Because the Fed doesn't want this particular illegal formation play that contains a safety factor in their eyes legally getting off.

Bingo.

ORRRRRRRRRRRRRR, Think about it this way
 

If the ball is never allowed to become live because either team committed an illegal act at or before the kick. Then, by shutting the play down and never allowing the ball to become live, there is absolutely no possibility of repeating a Free Kick.

Unfortunately, that's not the reality. In actual game situations, most K players are well downfield and much contact has occurred by the time the whistle blows and the players react.

Giving R a "tack-on" option would lessen the numbers of rekicks as much, if not more, than keeping it a dead-ball foul.

If there is significant delay in blowing the whistles to kill the play BEFORE, "most K players are well downfield and much contact has occurred", perhaps the solution is working on quicker, and more obvious, reaction to the foul by the Free Kick Line officials.

At the interscholastic level there is greater incentive to shut plays down that are tainted by violations, rather than allow them to play out before subsequent correction. The FK lines buffer allows for minimizing, if not stopping, unnecessary contact, but does require immediate and dramatically noticeable reaction by officials.

I disagree!
 

With all due respect CT1, I disagree!
1) Making it a live ball foul and providing a tack-on option, (as you suggest) would then also include the option to re-kick!
Because of the option to re-kick, I would not expect the NFHS to change.

2) If, as you suggest, most K players are well down field and much contact has occurred by the time the whistle blows then I suggest either the R (K had less than 4 on either side of the kicker), or the B (someone on K other than the player that went back more than 5 yards kicked the ball), or the H (K encroached) or the L (R encroached) One of these guys is guilty of being slow on the whistle.
Pre-Game who blows the whistle to shut it down and get on the whistle.

That's true. But I believe that, unless R is downed inside his red zone, very few rekicks will happen. (I don't expect NFHS to change either!)

I agree that the whistle should come as soon as possible. But there's still some lag time between "Hey, he can't do that!" and *TWEET* and "Uh-oh, I better pull up" reactions.

Remember, most of the K and R players are only 10 yards apart.

And yet what I've usually seen in cases of encroachment where Fed rules are on, the contact is aborted or only slight.

No matter how big they get, or how much equipment we dress them up in, NFHS rules are still designed for High School students, and below. NCAA and NFL rules govern games played by young, and/or fully grown men.

Why would you expect "one size to fit all"?

I've never had to call this one yet. Teams where I work always line up properly and have had no issues.

Last year our BJ did give the kicker the ball until 4 on each side. Now that is not a penalty until the kick so we will probably see more shifts before the kick.

That would be too much like the NFL. :)

Starting this year it is.

FREE-KICK FORMATIONS REVISED (6-1-3; 6-1-4 NEW; 6-1 PENALTY): In a revision of the 2014 rule change regarding free-kick formations, the timing of the foul for not having at
least four players on each side of the kicker now occurs when the ball is kicked.

Now, do we shut it down as soon as the ball is kicked, just as we do on an offsides play?

Yes, which is why it's signaled as Encroachment, not Illegal Formation. NFHS doesn't want a second kickoff, which would be one of the options if this were administered as a live-ball foul.