Region One Football Officials Association Rule Topics: Scoring We Are All Here to Learn

Rules: 1-1-2; 8-1 Points are scored by: Touchdown (6 pts) Successful try (1 or 2 pts) Field goal (3 pts) Safety (2 pts)

Rule: 8-2-1 Possession of live ball in the opponent’s end zone is ALWAYS a TD To score TD, the ball, in possession of a runner, must penetrate plane of the opponent’s goal line or touch the goal line - the position of runner’s body is of no consequence as long as ball in his possession breaks plane of the goal line before he is out of bounds or down in the field of play

Goal Line & Pylons (Rule 2-26-3) Goal line is the vertical plane that separates field of play from end zone. The plane is on the front edge (facing the field of play) of the line. While a ball is over the out of bounds area, the goal line includes the extension beyond the sidelines. (Rule 4-3-3) Runner must be touching inbounds when the plane of the goal line extension is broken. Goal line pylons are out of bounds BEHIND the goal line.

Case Plays #1: Runner A1 advances into B’s end zone while holding ball outside the sideline plane. Ball breaks the goal line plane extended. #2: Airborne A1 & B1 simultaneously gain possession of legal forward pass near goal line & return to the ground (a) in the end zone w/ ball; (b) A1 lands in the end zone & B1 in the field or vice versa.

Case Plays (cont.) #3: A1, in B’s end zone, leaps in the air to catch a pass & is contacted by B1 forcing A1 to come down inbounds @ B’s 1-yard line where he is downed. #4: Runner A10 dives into the pylon at the intersection of the goal line and sideline and the ball breaks the plane of the goal line.

KICK TRYS & FIELD GOALS To be successful, the ball must pass above the crossbar and entirely between the vertical uprights or the inside edges of the uprights extended. If any part of the ball penetrates the plane of the inside edges of the vertical uprights extended, the kick is no good.

Try 1 point by field goal (or safety) & 2 points by touchdown (8-1; 8-3-3) After TD, scoring team has to attempt a try from the 3-yd line (8-3) Only ‘A’ can score during a try (8-3-3) Try ends when: ‘B’ gains possession It is apparent a drop/place kick will not score Try is successful Ball becomes dead for any other reason If during successful try, A commits a loss of down foul, there is no score & no replay If during a successful try, B commits foul, A can choose to: Accept penalty w/ replay, OR, Accept results & enforce penalty from succeeding spot During an unsuccessful try: Foul by A/K – penalty will be declined, no replay, result of the play Foul by B/R – the down is replayed after enforcement

Field Goal A field goal attempt can be made by drop kick or place kick from scrimmage or from a free kick after a fair catch or awarded fair catch Kicked ball cannot touch K beyond the expanded NZ or the ground before passing through the goal. If the ball touches K in or behind the NZ, the touching is ignored. (4-2-2) If kicked ball touches an upright, crossbar, game official or R in the end zone and caroms through the goal, the touching is ignored & the kick is successful. If a foul by R occurs during a successful FG, K can accept results of play & enforce penalty at the succeeding spot. Or, K can accept the penalty & replay the down. A FG is the only method of scoring that can be declined.

Safety (and Force) If runner carries ball or forces loose ball from field of play to or across his own goal line & the ball becomes dead there in his team’s possession or goes out of bounds in the end zone (does not apply to a legal, incomplete forward pass), it is a safety (Exception: momentum rule: 8-5-2a) Responsibility for forcing ball from field of play across a goal line is attributed to the player who: carries snaps passes fumbles kicks the ball, unless a NEW FORCE is applied to a grounded backward pass, kick or fumble. Muffing or batting of a pass, kick or fumble IN FLIGHT is NOT considered a new force Accidental touching of loose ball by a player who was blocked into the ball is ignored & does not constitute a new force Safety is scored when A/K commits any foul for which the penalty is accepted & the enforcement is from a spot in the end zone; or if an illegal pass is thrown from the end zone The plane of the goal line comes into play regarding a safety. The ENTIRE ball must be advanced out of the end zone. Otherwise, it is a safety. Don’t mark ball at the six-inch line on a ball coming out of the end zone. That means the entire ball didn’t get out & it should be a safety.

Thank You!

Fouls by Opponents of Scoring Team (No UC or Nonplayer foul) Except for the last timed down of the 4th quarter (last time of Q4 must be on the try): No change of possession: ‘A’ can accept the results of the play & have the penalty enforced on the try or subsequent kickoff. Change of possession w/ foul after possession: scoring team can accept results of the play & have penalty enforced on the try or subsequent kickoff. If foul occurs before the change of possession, the scoring team must decline the penalty.

UC or Nonplayer Fouls by Opponents of Scoring Team By EITHER team during a down when a TD is scored: the opponent may accept results of play & enforce penalty on the try or subsequent kickoff.

Fouls Occurring Between TD & RFP If after a down when TD is scored & PRIOR to initial RFP signal for the try, EITHER team commits ANY foul for which the basic spot is the succeeding spot, the offended team may accept penalty & have penalty enforced on the try or subsequent kickoff.