THE REDDING STUDY GUIDE to ( NFHS FOOTBALL RULES by George Demetriou 2020 EDITIOI\I \ I ABOUT THE PEOPLE BEHIND THIS BOOK ( The book is authored by George Demetriou who first officiated football in 1968. George is currently serving as a crew chief in the Colorado Springs High School Football Officials Association and is Past President of the Colorado Football Officials Association. He is currently the Rules Interpreter for the State of Colorado and has conducted clinics in several states including Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Montana and Utah. George has been an Editorial Contributor to Referee Magazine since 1991 and has written numerous articles and books on baseball and basketball as well as football rules. His most notable football book is "Judgment Calls." George was inducted in the National Federation of High School Associations Hall of Fame in 2014, the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and in the Minor League Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Demetriou is a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and a retired Army officer I who lives with his wife Joan in Colorado Springs. I This book is an adaptation of an identical book for NCAA rules first published in 1991 by Rogers Redding. Rogers recently retired as the National Coordinator for College Football Officiating, LLC. He served as the Secretary-Editor of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, the Supervisor of Officials for the Southeastern Conference, and is a veteran of more than 30 years of football officiating. He started officiating in the Dallas area and was on the officiating staff of both the Southwest Conference and the Southeastern Conference. Among his post season assignments were three national championship games: the 1991 Orange Bowl (Colorado-Notre Dame), the 1993 Sugar Bowl (Alabama-Miami), and the 1998 Rose Bowl ( (Michigan-Washington State). Redding retired as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He and his wife Shirley live in Birminqham, AL. "When you' re through l.earning, you' re through . " Publisher: George Demetriou 4925 Farthing Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906-5956 [email protected] To order, contact Double S Distributors Box2537 Denton, TX 76202 [email protected] Copyright © 2020 by George Demetriou All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America I (( I PREFACE { \ ON STUDYING THE RULES Quite often officials will ask me for advice on studying the rules. Many times I hear officials say, "I study that rule a lot, but I still have a very hard time with it." When someone tells me that they "study" the rules, often what they really mean is they "read" the rules. "Reading" is an important part of "studying," of course, but it is not the only thing. Reading and studying are different. They are related, to be sure, but they are definitely not identical. What's missing from this picture is writing. In my opinion, writing is an extremely important part of studying that most folks overlook, partly because they find writing to be hard work. And it is. But the payoff is powerful. A very smart friend of mine frames it this way, "If you read an idea, you rent it. But if you write the idea you own it." This principle can be applied to studying the rules. Here are some steps that I encourage you to try. When you have settled on a particular rule or portion of the rule book to study, do these: 1. Read the rule. 2. Write it out in your own words. Don't use "rule-speak," the jargon of the rule book. Instead, write out the rule by using words with which you are comfortable. 3. Explain or describe the rule (without looking at the book!) to someone else-a fellow official, your wife, ( a coach, and especially to someone who would not be expected to know it. If you can't explain a rule to someone else, then you don't really understand it yourself. 4. Make up two or three play situations that illustrate the rule. Try to use plays that you have personally seen, ones that have some chance of actually happening, rather than off-the-wall stuff that you are extremely unlikely of ever seeing. Lots of folks love to play "rule book trivia" by concocting outlandish plays, but I don't find this especially helpful. Scotty Reston, a former editor of the New York Times, once was asked what he thought about a certain issue in foreign policy. And his answer was, "How can I know what I think about it until I read what I have written about it?" This applies very well to understanding the rules of football: until you read what you have written about a rule, you are very unlikely to have a clear understanding of it. Rogers Redding July, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS ( Chapter 1 Chapter 6 Introduction . 1 The Kicking Game . 49 Free Kicks . 49 Chapter 2 Possession and Advance . 50 Recent Rules Changes . 3 First Touching . 51 Rules Changes for 2020 . 3 Free Kick Becomes Dead . 52 2019 Rules Changes Revisited ....... 3 Free Kick Out of Bounds ............ 52 2018 Rules Changes Revisited ....... 4 Fouls during Free Kicks . 53 Opportunity to Catch a Free Kick ...... 53 Chapter 3 Blocking . 54 Scrimmage Requirements and Live/ Scrimmage Kicks ................. 54 Dead Ball ........................ 5 Right to Advance . 54 Possession . 5 First Touching .................... 56 Scrimmage Requirements . 6 Scrimmage Kick Out of Bounds ....... 56 Offensive (Team A) Requirements ..... 7 Scrimmage Kick Becomes Dead ...... 56 The Snapper . 7 Opportunity to Catch a Encroachment ..................... 7 Scrimmage Kick . 57 False Starts ....................... 7 Field Goals . 57 Shifts ............................ 8 The Try . 58 Motion .......................... 9 Fouls during Scrimmage Kicks . 58 Formations and Numbering .......... 10 Contacting the Kicker . 59 Defensive (Team B) Requirements .... 11 Rules Common to Both Kicks . 60 Live/Dead Ball .................... 13 Batting .......................... 60 Holder Restrictions ................ 14 Touching ........................ 60 Opportunity to Catch a Kick .......... 61 Chapter 4 Fair Catch ....................... 61 The Running Game and Option to Snap or Free Kick . 64 Forward Progress ................. 19 Momentum Exception .............. 64 The Runner ...................... 19 Player Out of Bounds ............... 64 Helping the Runner ................ 20 Illegal Kicks . 64 Batting. 20 Handoffs ........................ 21 Fumbles ........................ 21 Fumbles Out of Bounds ............. 22 Momentum Exception . 23 Forward Progress ................. 24 Snap Location . 26 Chapter 7 The Clock and Overtime ........... 73 Chapter 5 Game Length ..................... 73 The Passing Game ................ 33 Coin Toss ....................... 73 Forward Passes .................. 33 Starting the Clock . 73 Legal and Illegal Forward Passes ...... 34 Stopping the Clock . 76 Incomplete Passes ................. 35 Play Clock . 77 Eligibility ........................ 36 Timeouts ........................ 78 Illegal Touching .................... 37 Delaying and Suspending the Game ... 82 Ineligibles Downfield ............... 37 Timing Adjustments ............... 82 Downfield Contact. 39 Extending the Period ............... 82 Pass Interference .................. 39 Crowd Noise . .............. 83 Airborne Receiver . 40 Delay of Game ................... 83 Roughing the Passer ............... 42 Delay at the Beginning of a Half ...... 84 Backward Passes ................. .43 Referee's Discretion . 84 Momentum Exception . 44 Overtime . 84 ( (continued) \,_ 2020 NFHS Redding Study Guide Chapter 8 Chapter 11 ( Major Fouls ...................... 93 Penalty Enforcement .............. 139 Free-Blocking Zone . 93 Classification of Fouls .............. 139 Clipping . ........... 94 Enforcement Procedure ............. 140 Blocking in the Back . 94 Live-Ball Fouls .................... 140 Blocking Below the Waist ............ 95 The All-But-One Principle ........... 141 Chop Block . 96 Dead-Ball Fouls . 147 Blindside Block. 96 Live-Ball Fouls Treated as Holding and Illegal Use of Hands . 98 Dead-Ball Fouls ................... 148 Head Contact . 99 Multiple Fouls .................... 149 Horse Collar Tackle ................ 100 Double Fouls .................... 150 Face Mask Fouls .................. 101 Change of Possession Fouls . 150 Contacting the Snapper ............. 101 Post-Scrimmage Kick Fouls ......... 152 Contacting the Kicker ............... 102 Fouls by Team Kon Kick Plays ....... 154 Contacting the Passer .............. 102 Fouls between Downs and Series ..... 155 Fighting ......................... 102 Loss of Down Fouls ................ 155 Other Personal Fouls ............... 103 Special Enforcement Fouls .......... 156 Unsportsmanlike Conduct ........... 104 The Clock . 156 Batting and Kicking the Ball .......... 105 Half-the-Distance Enforcement . 156 Sideline Interference ............... 106 End Zone Enforcement ............. 156 Illegal Participation . 106 Scoring Plays ..................... 159 Unfair Acts ....................... 106 The Try ......................... 160 After the Try. 161 Chapter 9 Summary: Carry-Over Penalties ...... 161 Scoring . 113 Touchdown . 113 Field Goal ....................... 114 Chapter 12 Safety ........................... 116 Loose Ends and Other Stuff ........ 171 ( Momentum Exception . 116 Inadvertent Whistle ................ 171 \ Safety