Region One Football Officials Association Rule Topics: Force Rule book references: Rule 2 (force), Rule 8.5 (force, safety, touchback); Rule 10 (enforcement of penalties) We Are All Here to Learn

Force (from field of play into endzone) Rule 2.12.1: Force is the result of energy by a player which provides movement of the ball Force is used only in connection with the goal line & in only 1 direction (from field of play into the endzone) Initial Force results from: Carry Fumble Kick Pass Snap A new force may result from bat, muff, or illegal kick of a: Fumble has been grounded Kick has been grounded Backward Pass has been grounded

Force Not a Factor For: Kicks going into R’s end zone (touchback regardless of who supplied the force) Backward pass or fumble declared dead (with no player possession) in the end zone of the opponent of the player who passed or fumbled (TD by rule)

Fundamentals: Touchback or Safety Unless there is momentum, a player in possession of ball & downed in their endzone is either a Safety or Touchback - Key is force that put ball into the endzone Team forces ball into their own endzone & if downed there = Safety Team forces ball into opponent’s endzone & if opponent downed there = Touchback Player in possession of ball in opponent’s endzone = Touchdown Foul committed by team in possession of the ball in their own endzone = Safety Punt blocked by R through the endzone and OOB = Safety (force is the punt because it was not grounded) A2 fumbles at his own 2 yard line. Ball is still in the air & legally batted into the end zone by B where it is recovered by A = Safety (A forced ball into endzone) Same as above, except the ball is grounded and rolling away from the end zone and B’s legal bat is determined to be a new force = Touchback (A’s ball at 20 yd line)

Loose ball is in A’s possession when it enters the end zone Team A’s End Zone Team B’s End Zone Out of Bounds ---------------------- Safety - B A Out of Bounds ---------------------- Touchback - B A or No Player has it --------------------------- Safety - B A A or No Player has it --------------------------- Touchdown - A B has ball ---------------------- Touchdown - B A B has ball ---------------------- Touchback - B Out of Bounds ---------------------- Touchback - A B Out of Bounds ---------------------- Safety - A After we talk about how the ball gets into the endzone, we will talk about what happens if a foul occurs A or no player has it ---------------------------- Touchback - A B A or No Player has it --------------------------- Touchdown - A B has ball ---------------------- Touchdown - B B B has ball ---------------------- Safety - A