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10/18/09

Mike PasenelliCapital Area Chapter PIAA Officials

Revised 13 September 2009

Penalty Enforcement Part 2: Change of Possession Fouls

10/18/09

Our Mission: To discuss fouls which occur during

changes of possession. To show our knowledge of those fouls by

answering the quiz completely. To discuss situations from this past

weekend.

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Introduction What we are not discussing: PSK fouls.

They have their own rules—we are not talking about them tonight.

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The Golden Rule: 5-2-1 If the penalty is accepted, the ball

belongs to the team in possession when the foul occurs

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Situation #1 (SG 11.23) Team B illegal participates by having 12

players in the formation on a play in which Team A’s forward pass is intercepted.

RULING: Team A will want to accept the penalty since this allows them to keep the ball after enforcement of the penalty.

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Situation #2 (11.24) During a run by A1, his teammate, A2,

clips. A1 subsequently fumbles and the ball is recovered and downed by B3.

RULING: Team B will most likely want to decline the penalty for Team A’s clip and take the result of the down to keep the ball.

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Double Fouls If both teams commit fouls during the

down, the fouls sometimes offset and the down is replayed, per 10-2-1.

Note that any number of fouls by one team offsets any number of fouls by the other team as long as they are all live-ball fouls.

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Situation #3 (SG 11.25) At the snap Team A has only 6 players

on the line of scrimmage and A1 is illegally in motion, while B2 illegally uses his hands during the down.

RULING: The fouls offset and the down is replayed.

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Live Balls and Dead-Balls When a live-ball foul by one team is

followed by a dead-ball foul by the same team, it is not a multiple foul.

The penalties are enforced separately and in their order of occurrence, per 10-1-3.

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Situation #4 (11.26)  A 1/10 @ A-40. A1 is illegally in motion at

the snap. A2 runs the ball for no gain. A3 is then called for a dead ball personal foul.

RULING: If Team B accepts the penalty for both illegal motion and the dead ball foul. It would be A 1/30 @ A-20. If Team B declines the penalty for the illegal motion and accepts the dead ball foul, it would be A 2/25 @ A-25.

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Non-Player and USC Fouls Another exception involves nonplayer

and unsportsmanlike conduct (USC) fouls Since for purposes of penalty enforcement they are identical to dead ball fouls, they are not offset by opponent’s fouls.

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Situation #5 (11.27 Modified) A 3/20 @ A-20. A Team B player commits

defensive pass interference (DPI) and the Team A coach is flagged for coming on to the field during the down.

Ruling: These fouls do not offset. Team A’s foul is treated as a dead ball foul, so both penalties are enforced. Team B is first penalized 15 yards for the DPI, and then Team A is penalized 15 yards for the USC. Since DPI includes an automatic 1st down, and the USC happened prior to the ready for play, A 1/10 @ A-20.

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Clean Hands Principle 10-2-2

If there is a change in team possession during the down, and the team that winds up with the ball did not foul prior to gaining possession, it is referred to as “having clean hands.” A team with clean hands gets to keep the ball if they decline their opponent’s foul.

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2008 Change A big change from previous year’s: the

team not last in possession then has the opportunity to exercise their penalty options.

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Situation #6 (11.28) A1 is illegally in motion at the snap,

and during the down A1 throws an interception. B2 clips on the run back.

RULING: Team B got the ball free of foul, so they had “clean hands.” Team B has the option to keep the football by declining A’s foul. A then has the option to accept or decline the penalty for the clip.

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Situation #7 (11.29) B1 recovers A2’s fumble and returns the

ball for 20 yards before being tackled by A3 who grasps but does not twist A3’s face mask. During B1’s run B4 clips.

RULING: Team B may decline Team A’s foul to keep the football, and the penalty for B4’s clip will probably be enforced.

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Situation #8 (11.30) At the snap, A1 is illegally in motion and B2

illegally uses his hands during his initial rush. A3’s illegal forward pass is intercepted by B4. During the return, B5 blocks below the waist.

RULING: The fouls offset, and the down is replayed. Team B committed a foul (illegal used of the hands) before gaining possession, so he had dirty hands. The clean hands exception does not apply.

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Clean Hands Remember, when the clean hands

principle applies, we still allow the teams a choice.

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Situation #9 A 1/10 @ B-30. Team A is in an illegal formation

and A1’s pass is intercepted in the end zone by B2. As B2 begins to run, B3 clips A4 in the end zone. B2 returns the ball all the way for a touchdown.

RULING: Team B, as the team last in possession, has the option of accepting or declining Team A’s foul. Declining A’s illegal formation foul would result in a safety. Thus, Team B will accept the penalty for Team A’s foul and the fouls will offset, resulting in a replay of the down.

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Change in 2008: Once the team last in possession

(usually Team B) declines the penalty for a double foul, the team not last in possession (usually Team A) may now either accept or decline the penalty for their opponent’s foul, per 10-2-2.

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Situation #10 (SG 11.33) With Team A leading by 3 points and the clock

running with 3 seconds left in the game, A1 muffs the snap. Team A had only 6 players on the line at the snap. B2 recovers the ball and returns it 10 yards before being tackled. During B2’s run, B3 shoved an opponent in the back, above the waist, as time expires.

RULING: Team B will decline the penalty for Team A’s illegal formation foul to keep the ball. Team A will then decline the penalty for B’s block in the back so the period will not extend.

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Situation #11 (SG 11.34)  On 4th down, Team A commits an

illegal shift. Ball carrier A1 is stopped short of the line to gain and B2 piles on after the ball is dead.

RULING: If B declines the penalty for A’s illegal shift, they will be awarded a new series and will have 1st down and 10 following enforcement of the penalty for their dead ball foul. 2222

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Situations from the Weekend

A 1/10 @ B-40. B leads game, 6-0, less than 5 seconds left. A1 throws a pass which is intercepted by B2 @ B-20. After the interception, B3 blocks in the back @ B-30. B2 is downed @ 50 as time expires.

RULING: B got the ball with clean hands, A has 2 options:

Decline the penalty, game over. Accept the penalty, so we have an accepted penalty on the

last timed down, B 1/10 @ B-20.

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Situations from the Weekend

10.5 seconds left in the game.  A is trailing with no timeouts left.  A1 has just completed a long pass, inbounds, to A2 for a 1st down.  A is lined up and set, waiting for the chains to get set.  R blows the RFP, and the snapper immediately double hitches the snap, causing L, U and H to throw their flags, blow their whistles and kill the clock. Meanwhile, the snapper, on the 3rd try, gets the ball to the QB, who is so surprised at the flags and whistles that he fumbles the snap.  The QB then picks up the ball from the ground and spikes it.  The clock operator has 8 seconds left on the clock.  

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Situations from the Weekend

RULING:  All actions by the snapper and QB after the illegal snap are moot, since the illegal snap causes the ball to become dead.  The question is, how much time should be put on the clock? Since the illegal snap occurred almost simultaneously with the RFP, putting the full 10.5 seconds back on the clock seems a reasonable alternative, although it could be argued that it had to take at least a tenth to make the illegal snap.

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Situations from the Weekend

K 4/goal @ R-4.  Kicker K1’s field goal attempt is good, but R2 roughs holder K3. 

RULING: K has 2 options: First, keep the FG and assess the penalty on the

succeeding spot, which is the kickoff during regulation time. 

Second, take the penalty, which has an automatic 1st down attached to it, from the previous spot, which results in K 1/goal @ R-2.  Depending on the score, time, etc., K may want to do that or not.

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Our Mission: To discuss fouls which occur during

changes of possession. To show our knowledge of those fouls by

answering the quiz completely. To discuss situations from this past

weekend.

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