Impartial

Foul is enforced from previous spot, 15 yards. However, since it also carries a loss of down, the try is no good. Line up for the kickoff as normal.

Aren't these two teams, who are matched up in round 1, both members of District 10- AAA? Thought they couldn't meet in round 1.

NFL rules and National Federation rules are quite different. In National Federation (high school) all holding fouls are 10 yards. So, to equate what we watch on Sunday and Monday to Friday nights isn't correct.

In the 2009 rule book..... Rule 10-5-2... page 76... (I finally had to look up the actual reference ) You don't see it very often... Consider this scenario... QB scrambling, and is brought down by his facemask. By rule, the enforcement spot is suppose to be the end of the run. But, what if he's in his own end zone? It's not fair to enforce a safety.. you can't reward the defense for an illegal act... so, you penalize from the goal line.... either 5 or 15 yards. As to the original question, see rule 2-33-1 on page 35 (this defines the types of plays for penalty enforcement) and pages 77-78. The thing is, there are alot of nuances and complications that even some officials don't know. The rule book wasn't written in a day, it's being modified all the time, with many, many scenarios to draw from. Most of the penalties are fair, but there are exceptions...

Not open to interpretation... it's the RULE... maybe the QB could've thrown to an open receiver had there not been holding. If the run ends in the end zone, the basic spot for penalty enforcement becomes the goal line... it's their ball on their own 10... bad news, yeah... but... that's the RULE. By rule it can't be a loose ball play if the ball is never loose... The play you described is a RUNNING play. You may not like the rule, but i'm 100% sure it's correct... If you really want to know, get hold of a National Federation Rule Book (Which, I'm sure being a coach, you have) and look at the section at the end of Rule 10 which describes penalty enforcement.

The fact that the pass doesn't get off doesn't have any effect at all. It comes down to the judgement of the official. Your DB's are able to BLOCK all they want to... tackling is, technically illegal, but usually if the blitz is successful, all heck breaks loose, and there won't be any holding. Consider this, though... suppose the QB eludes the blitz and rolls out to his right, the receiver has been tackled as he was trying to run an out pattern... that is defensive holding, and is illegal. Now, if the receiver did, indeed approach the DB in a "blocking manner," they may legally ward him off. In High School, you don't see it called much because there are only 5 officials on the field. Usually the only time you'll see it is when a corner gets beat off the line, and grabs the receiver's jersey as he goes past. If you have a good crew of officials, and they see your DB's tackling receivers, don't be surprised if it's called. But, the original play, as it was described (whether there was holding or not, I sure don't know) the administration of the penalty was correct.

The play described was a running play. It was a QB sack... no pass, no kick, therefore not a loose ball play. And, in National Federation rules, you sure can have defensive holding on a running play. A defensive player is allowed to hold in order to shed blockers, or ward them off. However, if an offensive player is not trying to block a defender (i.e: a receiver in a pass pattern) the defender is not allowed to hold him. Pass interference is an impossibility if no pass is thrown, not holding. Even in the NFL, you can have defensive holding when a QB is sacked... this is a running play. I REALLY hope you're not an official.

The defense did not get a net gain on the play... they lost 10 yards... Keep in mind that the result of the play was a sack with a loss of 12 yards. The defense lost those yards, and the offense got them back. Plus, it's 1st down instead of 2nd. By administering the penalty from the line of scrimmage, the defense would have lost the sack yardage AND 10 more yards... in effect, a 22 yard penalty. In my opinion, that punishment doesn't really fit the crime. Bottom line is, the penalty was administered correctly... as the rule is written.

By rule, the spot for penalty enforcement for a running play, like this was, is the end of the run. If the penalty is accepted, it will be 1st down from the 22, and in this case, it will be 1st and 12. Keep in mind, that had there been no penalty, it would be 2nd and 22 from the 32. So, to say that the offense isn't benefiting from the penalty is incorrect. IF the QB had thrown an incomplete pass, it would be classified as a loose ball play, and the enforcement spot would've been the line of scrimmage. IF the QB had completed a pass, beyond the line to gain the offense would no doubt, decline the penalty and take the result of the play.