Just Learned Of A New Rule In High School Football...

[robbman21]

So I'm listening to our local ESPNradio and the local sports talk show is on, and a caller chimes in with something he witnessed in the West Monroe (LA) vs Southwood game on Friday night. Southwood lined-up to attempt a field goal...FROM THEIR OWN END ZONE!! Obviously the fans and opposing West Monroe players were pretty shocked and confused to see what was going on, save for the WM coaches. Apparently this was a form of a punt, albeit as a place-kick. WM could put a player back to return it, and just like a punt the ball would be downed when the kicking team touched it past the line of scrimmage. Apparently Southwood (who is new to WM's conference) has done this for a few years: they once had a foreign exchange student who was quite the soccer player and who they converted to a kicker. His problem was that he could'nt grasp the concept of how to properly hold the ball, but could routinely drill 50+ yard field goals in practice and could get touch-backs on a consistent basis on kickoffs. No one on the team who could punt could even approach his distance, so one of the coaches on the staff knew of this rule and they began doing this in the lower classes of Louisiana HS football. It confused everyone they played when it was attempted for the first time each game and helped them win a lot of early-game field position battles. But that's not all...

Apparently one of the times this was attempted, the ball went through the uprights...and Southwood was awarded 3 points!!! The caller who stated that said that the opposing teams and coaches were absolutely livid, but the call stood. So I'm wondering if anyone has seen this anywhere else, or for that matter, has anyone ever even HEARD of anything like this??

[WJMorris3]

This actually used to be the NCAA rule, if I'm not mistaken.

According to NFHS rules, a missed field goal is spotted where it is downed, unless it makes it to the end zone, in which case it's brought out to the twenty. (For what it's worth, I saw a kid just barely miss a 45 yarder at one of my alma mater's games, and that's exactly what they did - ball at the 20.)

[TFoA]

Wait, let me get this straight, because I don't think I'm comprehending this...

They kicked a FG from their own endzone and they made it?! Or did he do this on a kickoff and knock it through? Idk. Either way, I'm aware of the rule being in effect in nearly all levels of football (see 2005 and 2006 Chicago Bears who used the recieption of missed FGs to their benefit), but nothing like this.

[robbman21]

Wait, let me get this straight, because I don't think I'm comprehending this...

They kicked a FG from their own endzone and they made it?! Or did he do this on a kickoff and knock it through? Idk. Either way, I'm aware of the rule being in effect in nearly all levels of football (see 2005 and 2006 Chicago Bears who used the recieption of missed FGs to their benefit), but nothing like this.

Nooo...no haha...their intentions were to PUNT from being backed-up to their own goa line, but they "punted" from a field goal formation, 7 yards deep into their own end zone. West Monroe took over where the ball was downed. A few years ago in another game, their intentions were to punt, but their foreign-exchange student kicker put it through the uprights from 50+ yards.

[pcgd]

I think Carmel High school in Illinois (Not the Mt. Carmel Caravan who has a ton of State Championships) had a really good field goal kicker and did this a few years ago. They were better off attempting a field goal in any punting situation because its treated like a punt in HS.

Similar situation but I remember hearing about it before and have told that story before. It might have been in SI even.

[winters in buffalo]

If you're the recieving team, do you try for the block in that situation?

[Drew22]

If it is a GHSA rule, I will mention it to one of the coaches on Friday. Our punter is not very good, and the kicker is.

[HedleyLamarr]

If it is a GHSA rule, I will mention it to one of the coaches on Friday. Our punter is not very good, and the kicker is.

You'll have to realize that they won't be able to work on that until next season. You don't just use an entirely new Special Teams play in the middle of the season.

[Drew22]

If it is a GHSA rule, I will mention it to one of the coaches on Friday. Our punter is not very good, and the kicker is.

You'll have to realize that they won't be able to work on that until next season. You don't just use an entirely new Special Teams play in the middle of the season.

Right. Still worth telling them about.

[kewp80]

Huh... I didn't know about this rule, pretty interesting. The only weird rule to come up in one of my high school games was our kicker wasn't allowed to kick with a bare foot, you have to have two shoes on.

I'm gonna have to see if that rule applies to here in Missouri.

[BlueSky]

Am I missing something? Why couldn't you do this in the NFL? There's no distance limit that I'm aware of, and if the missed FG can be returned like a punt and downed like a punt, what's to keep a team from doing it? I mean aside from that your coverage wouldn't be nearly as good nor would the hang time.

And here's another oddity of the rule book you may or may not know about. What happens when a punt rolls into the end zone? Touchback, right? Not necessarily. A returner can still field the ball and run with it. Trust me, I know...guy named Robert Bailey of the Rams did it to the Saints in 1994. From Wikipedia:

===

On October 23, 1994 as a member with the Rams, Bailey made the longest punt return in NFL history when he ran 103 yards for a touchdown in a game against the New Orleans Saints. What makes this return stand out is that every single player on the field assumed the ball was going to bounce through the end zone after the punt. Everyone, that is, except Bailey, who was the only person to see that the ball never bounced out of the end zone and was lying in the end zone still in play. He ran up, scooped the ball up, and returned it for a touchdown before anyone realized what had happened.

===

[KevinMcD]

Am I missing something? Why couldn't you do this in the NFL? There's no distance limit that I'm aware of, and if the missed FG can be returned like a punt and downed like a punt, what's to keep a team from doing it? I mean aside from that your coverage wouldn't be nearly as good nor would the hang time.

Because I believe that if you line up for a FG in the NFL and you miss, and the defending team does not touch it, it counts as a missed FG, and the opposing team receives the ball wherever you kicked the ball from.

[Sec19Row53]

Am I missing something? Why couldn't you do this in the NFL? There's no distance limit that I'm aware of, and if the missed FG can be returned like a punt and downed like a punt, what's to keep a team from doing it? I mean aside from that your coverage wouldn't be nearly as good nor would the hang time.

And here's another oddity of the rule book you may or may not know about. What happens when a punt rolls into the end zone? Touchback, right? Not necessarily. A returner can still field the ball and run with it. Trust me, I know...guy named Robert Bailey of the Rams did it to the Saints in 1994. From Wikipedia:

===

On October 23, 1994 as a member with the Rams, Bailey made the longest punt return in NFL history when he ran 103 yards for a touchdown in a game against the New Orleans Saints. What makes this return stand out is that every single player on the field assumed the ball was going to bounce through the end zone after the punt. Everyone, that is, except Bailey, who was the only person to see that the ball never bounced out of the end zone and was lying in the end zone still in play. He ran up, scooped the ball up, and returned it for a touchdown before anyone realized what had happened.

===

1 - A missed FG in the NFL is placed at the spot of the FG, not where it ends up. So, this wouldn't work.

2 - The rule was changed so that as soon as a punt touches the end zone, it is dead. The change was due to the play you referred to. That's just wiki being wiki - wrong as it frequently is.

[BlueSky]

Wow...I need to quit posting late at night when I'm tired. Thanks for the corrections.

[pcgd]

Am I missing something? Why couldn't you do this in the NFL? There's no distance limit that I'm aware of, and if the missed FG can be returned like a punt and downed like a punt, what's to keep a team from doing it? I mean aside from that your coverage wouldn't be nearly as good nor would the hang time.

Because I believe that if you line up for a FG in the NFL and you miss, and the defending team does not touch it, it counts as a missed FG, and the opposing team receives the ball wherever you kicked the ball from.

Right, and the defending team is free to return the punt if desired, but of course at their own risk. Kinda like the Infield fly rule. You have the ball at the line of scrimmage, but if you think you can return it further up field, you are free to do so.

See: Devin Hester last year.

Another interesting note. If you attempt a field goal on any down but 4th, and screw up the snap but do not attempt the field goal, you can have another try wherever the ball is downed. but if the kick is attempted at all and missed, the ball is returned to the defense.

[Billy B]

while on the topic of odd field goal rules. If a field goal hit the goal post and bounced back, can it be advanced? Once during practice, a kick from about 35 yards hit the upright and somehow bounced straight back to the tight end. If it were a game, could he advance that?

[Mac the Knife]

while on the topic of odd field goal rules. If a field goal hit the goal post and bounced back, can it be advanced? Once during practice, a kick from about 35 yards hit the upright and somehow bounced straight back to the tight end. If it were a game, could he advance that?

No. It is considered that the ball's impetus came from a foreign object (i.e., the goal post) and thus a Dead ball.

[goalieboy82]

does anyone have video of it.

[BlueSky]

while on the topic of odd field goal rules. If a field goal hit the goal post and bounced back, can it be advanced? Once during practice, a kick from about 35 yards hit the upright and somehow bounced straight back to the tight end. If it were a game, could he advance that?

No. It is considered that the ball's impetus came from a foreign object (i.e., the goal post) and thus a Dead ball.

I was there when Oakland's punter Ray Guy hit the Superdome replay screens, which hung directly over the field over a hundred feet up, with a punt in the '76 Pro Bowl. They whistled the play dead and replayed the down. It was the only "do over" I've ever seen in an NFL game.

[Burning River]

Interesting... There is there a rule in the NFL that a "Free Kick" can be made as a FG attempt after a fair catch. Something where there is no "rush". Anyone ever see it?

Here is the Rule from NFL. com, listed under "Kick Off":

On a safety kick, the team scored upon puts ball in play by a punt, dropkick, or placekick without tee. No score can be made on a free kick following a safety, even if a series of penalties places team in position. (A field goal can be scored only on a play from scrimmage or a free kick after a fair catch.)