Officially Speaking: Remaining defensive
Editor's Note: Officially Speaking with Steve Hall is a feature that allows readers to ask questions about high school football rules and will run weekly throughout the season. Hall has been a New Hampshire high school official since 1989 and has officiated more than 200 regular-season varsity games in all five divisions. He has also officiated 10 championship games and more than 25 playoff games. Hall, who is a member of the New Hampshire Football Officials' Association Board of Directors, has been the NHFOA rules interpreter for the last seven years. Questions for Steve can be sent to rbrown@nhfootballreport.com. Questions may be edited for clarity.
Question: Steve, when a team allows a touchdown (or field goal) can it elect to kick off and play defense? I have a friend who says this can be done to avoid an on-side kick attempt that could give a team good field position late in the game. For example, a team trailing by two points could recover the on-side kick, which would make it that much easier to get in range and kick a game-winning field goal. I've never seen this done at any level.
K.D., Dover
Answer: Yes. After a try for point (following a touchdown) or after a successful field goal, the opponent of the scoring team designates which team will kick off. I have never seen a team elect to kick off after its opponent has scored, and officials don't ask the team that's been scored upon if they want to kick off. Rather, it's assumed that the team that's been scored upon wants to receive the kickoff. However, if a team made a request to kick off after being scored upon, that request would be granted.
Question: Should a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty always be called if the 12th player attempts to leave the field, but is several yards shy of the sideline when the ball is snapped? You see this a lot, and the player never has anything to do with the play. I guess what I'm asking is if this is a black-and-white situation, or a judgment call?
Jeff, Portsmouth
Answer: By strict interpretation of the rule, if a replaced player (the 12th team member who is leaving the field) is not off the field of play by the snap, it's a foul for illegal substitution. As a practical matter, it's really a judgment call by the official. If the replaced player is hustling toward his sideline and is behind the wing official at the snap, a foul is generally not called. However, if he is still several yards on the field at the time of the snap, a foul will be called. There really is no clear demarcation of whether to call a foul or not, but officials usually give the replaced player the benefit of the doubt if he is making a concerted effort to get off the field, is close to his sideline (or behind the wing official) at the snap, and if his effort to leave the field has no impact on the play.
Question: When does the play clock start and how many seconds does a high school team have between plays?
S.O., Kingston
Answer: The play clock starts when the referee marks the ball ready for play by blowing his whistle after the ball has been placed on the ground by the umpire. Once the ready-for-play signal is given, a team has 25 seconds to put the ball in play.
Question: Is a quarterback allowed to wear any number of his choice?
K.K., Amherst
Answer: Yes. Any player can wear any number they choose. However, to be an eligible receiver for a forward pass, a player must be wearing a number from 1 through 49 or 80 through 99 (in addition to meeting other requirements on positioning). If a quarterback wore a number from 50 through 79, he would not be an eligible pass receiver.
Check the archives for more Officially Speaking features with Steve Hall.
