Phil Long MHSAA Official and Assignor

 Basic Spot  Succeeding Spot  Previous Spot  Enforcement Spot  Spot of Foul  Out of bounds Spot  Spot of Enforcement

1. The Basic spot …becomes the Previous spot and therefore the spot of Enforcement for:  all penalties occurring simultaneous with the snap or free kick.  fouls occurring during a loose pall play as defined by Also and b for special enforcement on roughing the passer and kick catching interference.  An inadvertent whistle during a legal kick and the ball was still loose.

2. The Basic spot…is the spot where the kick ends when R commits a post scrimmage kick foul. It becomes the spot of enforcement unless R’s penalty occurs behind this basic spot.

3. The Basic spot…is the spot where the run ends for a foul that occurs during a running play(10-3-2)

4. The Basic spot…is the succeeding spot which therefore becomes the spot of enforcement for:  Unsportsmanlike fouls  Dead ball fouls  Non-player fouls  When the final result is a touchback

5. The Basic spot…is the 20 yardline for:  B1 intercepts A1’s pass in B’s endzone and A2 grabs B1’s face mask before he could get out of the endzone. The ball comes loose and rolls out of the endzone. The basic spot, which becomes the spot of enforcement, will be the 20 yardline. This will result in a first down for B at the 35 yardline.

6. The Basic spot…is the goal line for:  With 3 rd and 10, A1 takes the snap from his own 3 yardline and retreats into his own endzone where B1 tackles him by the facemask. The ball is fumbled through the endzone. The spot of enforcement will be the basic spot resulting in 1 st and 10 for A from their 15 yardline.

Fouls, in high school football, can be divided into 2 groups:  Live ball fouls ( occur during a play )  Dead ball fouls (occur before the ball becomes live or after the ball is no longer live ) included in this group would also be any foul that occurs during a live ball BUT is administered as a dead ball foul (ie unsportsmanlike penalties including non- player fouls)

Fouls by A which result in a loss of down are:  Illegal handing the ball forward  Illegal forward pass  Illegal touching of a forward pass by an ineligible

Fouls by B that give A an automatic 1 st down are:  Roughing the kicker or holder  Roughing the passer  Roughing the snapper

Double and Multiple Fouls  Live ball fouls by each team, during a down in which there is no change of possession, will cancel. You do not need to get the captains. This is a double foul.  Live ball fouls by both teams when, there is a change of possession, will result in a double foul if both penalties occur before the change. However, if Bs foul occurs after they gain possession, they may keep the ball by refusing A’s penalty and having their penalty(B’s) assessed.We have referred to this as the “clean hands” rule.

Double and Multiple Fouls (cont.)  Multiple fouls are 2 or more live ball fouls by the same team during a play. You may only assess 1 ! Remember! These are live ball fouls. So, if any dead ball fouls occur, you will assess them also in the order they occurred.  One Major Note….. You can not use a dead ball foul by one team to cause a live ball foul by the other team to become a double foul and thus “wave them off.”

When A scores a touchdown or scores a PAT they may accept the penalty against “B” and the enforcement spot will be…. The succeeding spot which could be..  1. The spot where the ball will be placed for the PAT  2. “K’s” free kick line for the ensuing kick-off  NOTE: Any dead ball penalties that occur during the play and prior to the next “ready for play” signal, will also be assessed with the teams having a choice of taking the penalty on the PAT or Kick-off.

Field Goal…  When A scores a field goal, they may accept the 3 points and have the penalty assessed on the ensuing kick-off OR they may give up the 3 points and replay the down having the penalty assessed from the previous spot.

“ Special enforcement Rules”  Free kick out of bounds and untouched by R … 1. If accepted, the penalty is 5 yards from the previous spot and re-kick 2. R could take the ball at the spot where it went out of bounds.( hash on that side) 3. R could take the ball 25 yards from B’s free kick line.

“ Special enforcement Rules” (cont.)  Kick catching interference may be enforced from … 1. The spot of the foul with R having possession 2. The previous spot and replaying the down  Roughing the passer… Penalty will assessed from one of two spots… 1. Previous spot…if the pass was incomplete 2. Dead ball spot…if the pass was completed and the dead ball spot was beyond the neutral zone.

 This is so simple! This applies only to the offense when during a play or a loose ball, they (A) commit a foul BEHIND the basic spot. Then the spot of enforcement becomes the spot where the foul occurred. That’s it!

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