Officially Speaking: Defense rules in OT
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: What determines where the ball is placed for a two-point conversion? Does the offensive team have the option to put the ball on either hash?
T.T., Dover
Answer: For a try (commonly but incorrectly referred to as a conversion or "PAT"), the offense has a choice of where to place the ball. It can be placed anywhere between the hash marks. Teams have a choice for ball
placement in any of the following situations: for a try, for a kickoff (including a kickoff following a safety), after a fair catch or an awarded fair catch, after a touchback, and at the start of a series using an overtime procedure. Officials usually spot the ball at the center of the field in any of these situations, but a team could request that the ball be moved prior to the ready-for-play signal. For kickoffs, the kicker will usually come on the field with the tee and place it at the spot from which he wants to kick. If there's a touchback, before I mark the ball ready for play I always ask the quarterback if he wants the ball in thecenter of the field. For a try, officials attempt to determine whether the team is bringing a kicking tee onto the field. If the team has a tee, then I don't ask if they want the ball spotted in the center of the field because the answer will almost certainly be that they do. However, if
there's no tee brought in, I ask the quarterback where he wants the ball spotted.
placement in any of the following situations: for a try, for a kickoff (including a kickoff following a safety), after a fair catch or an awarded fair catch, after a touchback, and at the start of a series using an overtime procedure. Officials usually spot the ball at the center of the field in any of these situations, but a team could request that the ball be moved prior to the ready-for-play signal. For kickoffs, the kicker will usually come on the field with the tee and place it at the spot from which he wants to kick. If there's a touchback, before I mark the ball ready for play I always ask the quarterback if he wants the ball in thecenter of the field. For a try, officials attempt to determine whether the team is bringing a kicking tee onto the field. If the team has a tee, then I don't ask if they want the ball spotted in the center of the field because the answer will almost certainly be that they do. However, if
there's no tee brought in, I ask the quarterback where he wants the ball spotted.
Question: A couple weeks ago Steve wrote about how a defensive team can score in overtime. I'd like to ask him the following question: If the defensive team scored a safety on the first possession of overtime, does that team still have to go on offense? Unlikely as it may seem, another safety could be scored or a fumble could be recovered for a touchdown. I realize this isn't likely to happy, but I'm curious about the rule.
T. McGrath, Manchester
T. McGrath, Manchester
Answer: No, the defensive team does not go on offense if it scores a safety during an overtime. The rules specify that if the defense scores a safety or a touchdown, the game is ended.
Question: Mr. Hall, can a team request a new ball at any time? If not, when is such a move allowed. I was at a game earlier this year played on a somewhat muddy field and a team asked for a new ball several times before it punted, but I don't believe a new ball was brought into the game.
J.S., Brattleboro, Vt.
Answer: A new ball can only be requested to start a new series of downs (i.e., for each first down). If a team scores a touchdown, it cannot request a different ball for the try (unless it's the defensive team that scores, in which case the team is allowed to request a different ball for the try). We will occasionally make exceptions to this rule and allow teams to use a different ball for a kick try if the game is played on a field where there is the potential to lose the ball or for the ball to become wet if it's kicked. Examples are games played at Gill Stadium in
Manchester where a kicked ball has the potential of landing out of the stadium and onto a busy street, or Stellos Stadium in Nashua where there is a drainage area on one end of the field.
On rainy days or when the field is wet, the referee may have the ball changed between downs. In those situations, I rely on the judgment of the umpire in the game, since he's the one who handles the ball the most and who places it prior to each play. If the umpire tells me that the ball is playable, then we use it for the next down. That may have been the case in the game that you attended. On a wet field, I always ask for the ball to be changed whenever there's an incomplete pass, because the ball gets very wet when it hits the ground.
J.S., Brattleboro, Vt.
Answer: A new ball can only be requested to start a new series of downs (i.e., for each first down). If a team scores a touchdown, it cannot request a different ball for the try (unless it's the defensive team that scores, in which case the team is allowed to request a different ball for the try). We will occasionally make exceptions to this rule and allow teams to use a different ball for a kick try if the game is played on a field where there is the potential to lose the ball or for the ball to become wet if it's kicked. Examples are games played at Gill Stadium in
Manchester where a kicked ball has the potential of landing out of the stadium and onto a busy street, or Stellos Stadium in Nashua where there is a drainage area on one end of the field.
On rainy days or when the field is wet, the referee may have the ball changed between downs. In those situations, I rely on the judgment of the umpire in the game, since he's the one who handles the ball the most and who places it prior to each play. If the umpire tells me that the ball is playable, then we use it for the next down. That may have been the case in the game that you attended. On a wet field, I always ask for the ball to be changed whenever there's an incomplete pass, because the ball gets very wet when it hits the ground.
Question: During the Exeter/BG game Exeter coach Bill Ball elected to attempt field goals instead of punting several times. I always thought (incorrectly) that the ball was placed at the line of scrimmage following a missed field goal. What is the correct rule in this situation?
D.F., Hampton
Answer: I've received at least a dozen questions about this from people who attended that game. The confusion isn't surprising because National Federation rules differ from NFL and NCAA rules, so a lot of people didn't
understand why officials in that game did not return the ball to the spot of the kick. A field goal, like a punt, is a scrimmage kick. Think of a field goal attempt as nothing more than a punt that can score three points if the ball passes through the uprights. If the ball enters the end zone during a field goal attempt and the field goal is unsuccessful, it is a touchback. If the ball doesn't reach the end zone during a field goal attempt, it can be returned by the receiving team. If it rolls to a stop and becomes dead in the field of play, the receiving team is awarded a first down at that spot.
D.F., Hampton
Answer: I've received at least a dozen questions about this from people who attended that game. The confusion isn't surprising because National Federation rules differ from NFL and NCAA rules, so a lot of people didn't
understand why officials in that game did not return the ball to the spot of the kick. A field goal, like a punt, is a scrimmage kick. Think of a field goal attempt as nothing more than a punt that can score three points if the ball passes through the uprights. If the ball enters the end zone during a field goal attempt and the field goal is unsuccessful, it is a touchback. If the ball doesn't reach the end zone during a field goal attempt, it can be returned by the receiving team. If it rolls to a stop and becomes dead in the field of play, the receiving team is awarded a first down at that spot.
Check the archives for more Officially Speaking features with Steve Hall.
