AOS Football Play of the Week

Updated for 2023 Season

Play 1: R1 gives a valid fair-catch signal at his 35 yd. line. The ball bounces off his shoulder pad and is still in flight behind him.​

  1. R1 no longer has protection from contact.​
  2. R1 only has protection if the covering official rules he has a reasonable chance to catch the ball.​
  3. R1 only has protection if the covering official rules he has a reasonable chance to recover the ball.​
  4. If any team K player catches or recovers the ball, he may advance.​

RULING: a. R1 no longer has protection from contact.​ (3-4-2d, 3-4-5, 3-6-1)

 

Play 2: R1, standing on his 5 yd. line, touches a kickoff as the ball bounces past him. The ball (a) rolls into the end zone where it is recovered by K2, or (b) bounces in the end zone where K3 recovers before the ball touches the ground.​

RULING: Touchback in both (a) and (b). The ball is dead when it breaks the plane of Team R’s goal line.

 

Play 3: A kickoff bounces off R1’s chest at his 3 yd. line. The ball is at rest on Team R’s 2 yd. line when R1, in his haste to recover the ball, muffs and forces the ball into the end zone and across the sideline.​

RULING: Touchback. Force is not an issue on kicks going into Team R’s end zone.

 

Play 4:  Fourth and four from K’s 36 yd. line. Team K is in scrimmage kick formation. K1 receives the snap and uses an overhand motion to throw a high and deep pass downfield toward eligible K2. R3 blocks K2 while the ball is in flight. The pass is not caught.​

RULING: R3 is guilty of defensive pass interference. (7-5-8, 7-5-9, 7-5-10)

 

Play 5:  A1 is under a heavy rush and scrambles toward the LOS. His passing arm and one of his feet are beyond the neutral zone when he throws a forward pass.​

RULING: Foul. If only A1’s arm had been beyond the zone, there would be no foul. (7-5-1, 7-5-2b Penalty for Illegal Pass) S35-9 Five yards plus loss of down.​

 

Play 6:  Fourth and goal from B’s 1-yard line, runner A1 is pushed at the line of scrimmage from behind by A2 in an effort to get him into the end zone.

RULING: A2 has fouled by helping the runner. The foul carries a 5-yard penalty. Therefore it will be fourth and goal from B’s 6-yard line if the penalty is accepted.

 

Play 7:  From scrimmage-kick formation, A1 snaps the ball to up-back A2 who is 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage and offset from the snapper by 1 yard. A2 runs for a 10-yard gain. Immediately after the snap started, B7 charges directly into the snapper. The snapper had not had the opportuity to defend himself and was displaced by B7’s charge.

RULING: B7 has roughed the snapper. If accepted, the loose ball foul is enforced with a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot and an automatic first down. There is no requirement that the ball be kicked or that a depp back receive the snap.

 

Play 8:  (Same situation as play 8) From scrimmage-kick formation, A1 snaps the ball to up-back A2 who is 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage and offset from the snapper by 1 yard. A2 runs for a 10-yard gain. Immediately after the snap started, B7 charges into the gap between the snapper and the adjacent A player making simultaneous contact with both the snapper and the oterh A Team player. The snapper had not had the opportuity to defend himself and was displaced by B7’s charge.

RULING: There is no foul. The snapper’s protection does not include si,ultaneous contact from another A player, nor does it take away the “center-guard gap” from B. The roughing prohibition is only for a direct charge into the snapper (2-32-14)

 

Play 9:  A2 is running a pass patern in the end zone and touches the end line or beyond and leaps and taps A1’s legal forward pass to A3 in the end zone who catches that pass. A2 then lands inbounds following the tap of the ball.

RULING: Incomplete pass. A2 is considered out of bounds until any body part is touching inbounds while no body part touches out of bounds. In addition, if A2 went out of bounds voluntarily, he is guilty of illegal participation. (2-29-1, 7-5-4)

 

Play 10:  A1 receives the snap and begins a run behind the neutral zone. A1 advances beyond the enutral zone and either kicks or passes the ball forward.

RULING: It is a foul during a running play and it will be penalized from the spot of the illegal kick or illegal pass per 10-4-4f. (Also see 10-3-3b, 10-4-4a)