[Ram Fan04]

Is there any true rule for this? Or is it just the referees call to make? I realize you can't hit someone who is out of bounds. But this year I have seen so many calls that is a penalty one week and not the next. Or even a penalty in the first quarter or not in the third?

[zaga_fan]

Is there any true rule for this? Or is it just the referees call to make? I realize you can't hit someone who is out of bounds. But this year I have seen so many calls that is a penalty one week and not the next. Or even a penalty in the first quarter or not in the third?

Some of it is up to the ref.
It is hard, as a defender, to be in pursuit of a player and just stop on a dime because the ball-carrier steps out of bounds to avoid contact.
Refs are aware of that.

[LeeCoUKFan]

Some of it is up to the ref.
It is hard, as a defender, to be in pursuit of a player and just stop on a dime because the ball-carrier steps out of bounds to avoid contact.Refs are aware of that.

But as far as thats concerned there is a difference between running into the offensive player and running into them or tackling them on purpose after they're out of bounds.

As I have always understood it, a late hit call is constituted when an offensive player is completely out of bounds and the defensive player either tackles or hits the offensive player hard enough to knock them down with the defensive player not making contact with the offensive player until the offensive player is completely out of bounds.

[LeeCoUKFan]

But as far as thats concerned there is a difference between running into the offensive player and running into them or tackling them on purpose after they're out of bounds.

As I have always understood it, a late hit call is constituted when an offensive player is completely out of bounds and the defensive player either tackles or hits the offensive player hard enough to knock them down with the defensive player not making contact with the offensive player until the offensive player is completely out of bounds.

I think I may have repeated myself but I was just trying to be detailed.

[Lambert #1]

As an extension of your post: What is considered a late hit when a player is running down the field with the football and one of his team mates crack back and block a player that is chasing the ball carrier. Is it 10 yards, 15 yards, 8 yards or 5 yards behind the ball carrier when it should be called. Can the ref accurately determine how fast the pursuing player is and determine that he could or could not catch the ball carrier before he get's to the endzone? I have seen the yellow flag fly this year more than ever on this call and sometimes think that they should have not thrown it because I felt the runner could have been caught before he scored and his team mate made a good block to help his team score. I think that it is being over called this year and almost confusing kids as to how to block. Football is football and it includes hard hits that sometimes hurts the participants. As long as the hit is made in the front not the back and the whistle has not blown I do not see why this should be called as often as I have seen it called this year. It's the coach's responsibility to teach his players to play until they hear a whistle and then let up, keep his head on a swivel and see the entire field, if your kid has stopped and is watching other players and get's hit because he is not paying attention how can that be the other players fault. I've been told that this is a point of emphasis this year with the KHSAA, if so stop taking the contact out of football and let clean physical football be played by everyone. What's your thoughts on this? I'm curious if I am the only one that thinks football is getting a little to soft now a days.

[zaga_fan]

But as far as thats concerned there is a difference between running into the offensive player and running into them or tackling them on purpose after they're out of bounds.

As I have always understood it, a late hit call is constituted when an offensive player is completely out of bounds and the defensive player either tackles or hits the offensive player hard enough to knock them down with the defensive player not making contact with the offensive player until the offensive player is completely out of bounds.

I understand the rule....it just is one of those rules that shows up every year with a new clarification.

I got called for one in a JV game once because I hit a player who went out to avoid contact and came back inbounds and started running like he never stepped out. The whistle wasn't blown until after I hit the player.
I couldn't tell he went out of bounds because of the defenders that were in front of him he was trying to avoid.
The coach told me it was good defense and I was just playing until the whistle blew.
The ref told me it was dirty.
The

[LeeCoUKFan]

As an extension of your post: What is considered a late hit when a player is running down the field with the football and one of his team mates crack back and block a player that is chasing the ball carrier. Is it 10 yards, 15 yards, 8 yards or 5 yards behind the ball carrier when it should be called. Can the ref accurately determine how fast the pursuing player is and determine that he could or could not catch the ball carrier before he get's to the endzone? I have seen the yellow flag fly this year more than ever on this call and sometimes think that they should have not thrown it because I felt the runner could have been caught before he scored and his team mate made a good block to help his team score. I think that it is being over called this year and almost confusing kids as to how to block. Football is football and it includes hard hits that sometimes hurts the participants. As long as the hit is made in the front not the back and the whistle has not blown I do not see why this should be called as often as I have seen it called this year. It's the coach's responsibility to teach his players to play until they hear a whistle and then let up, keep his head on a swivel and see the entire field, if your kid has stopped and is watching other players and get's hit because he is not paying attention how can that be the other players fault. I've been told that this is a point of emphasis this year with the KHSAA, if so stop taking the contact out of football and let clean physical football be played by everyone. What's your thoughts on this? I'm curious if I am the only one that thinks football is getting a little to soft now a days.

I agree with you here, as long as the offensive player that is blocking the defensive player on his front side I don't think a call should be made BUT you also have to consider how close the defensive player is to the offensive player with the ball. If the player with the ball has already scored the TD then the play should be called if the player that gets knocked down by the block is more than 5 yards away from the endzone. But before the player scores this should be a much easier call for the ref because you can tell who is in pursuit and close to the play, if an offensive player comes up and makes a physical block to protect his player from being tackled then no call should be made. If there is a block made and the defensive isn't close to the play then I see that as an uneccessary block where a call should be made and other things that factor into the call is the saftey of the player taking the hit.

[LeeCoUKFan]

I understand the rule....it just is one of those rules that shows up every year with a new clarification.

I got called for one in a JV game once because I hit a player who went out to avoid contact and came back inbounds and started running like he never stepped out. The whistle wasn't blown until after I hit the player.
I couldn't tell he went out of bounds because of the defenders that were in front of him he was trying to avoid.
The coach told me it was good defense and I was just playing until the whistle blew.
The ref told me it was dirty.
The

Yeah thats one of those special situations where the player and the ref think they were both in the right. If the whistle didn't blow until after you made the hit then I see no means for a flag on that one! The ref should have just kept his personal opinion to himself and called it by the rules! I never was called for anything like that but I had teammates that got called for things like that and always upset me!

[Blackwater]

Initial blocking below the waist, outside the free blocking zone, is illegal no matter where the runner is on the field. The NFHS makes this clear in their rule book. This is a saftey RULE for players that are still developing physically. Football is a contact sport, but cheap shots, away from the play and punishing players, is not the spirit of the game.