// Game Rules

  1. Game Rules

    •  Game is to 3 TD's or 45 minutes, whichever comes first- regular season games can end in ties.

    •  Teams will be awarded 2 pts for a win and 1 pt for a tie.

    •  Game clock will stop only during time outs.

    -Clock will run after all other plays including incompletions and touchdowns.

    -Each team will receive 2 timeouts per game, each lasting 1 full minute. Off a timeout, clock will not resume until the ball is hiked in.

    •  Coin flip will decide possession/side. (Winner of coin flip has choice of which one and loser gets other)

    •  No Throw-Offs- start at 10 yard line

    •  The hiker must play within 5 feet of the line of scrimmage.

    He cannot drop into coverage unless his team blitzes or rushes.

    •  Hiker cannot begin counting or call Blitz until the ball touches the QB's hands.

    •  Hiker counts to "7 rush, RUSH" before he can attack the QB.

    -"RUSH" must be called again after the last "7 Rush ", in order to rush the QB. -The ref standing by the line of scrimmage will be the judge of speed counting.

    •  1 Blitz per four downs for the defense.

    -When blitzing any members of the Defense may rush the QB.

    •  No QB sneaks, however, the QB can run if he is blitzed or rushed.

    •  The player who calls "Hike" must be the first one to touch the ball once the ball leaves the hikers hands. (A player cannot swoop in and run with it).

    •  Defenders can bump receivers within the first 5 yards off scrimmage.

    •  First downs will be rewarded upon crossing the 50-yard line.

    ( If the drive begins after mid-field, you cannot get a first down.)

    •  To make a completion, 2 feet (or 1 knee) must be in while obtaining full possession of the football

    -This is the rule whether play occurs on the field, in the end zone or during an interception.

    •  Handoffs are allowed an unlimited amount of times.

    •  -After each play, the ref will place the ball on the line of scrimmage.

    -You then have 25 seconds to snap the ball so set up a play FAST!

    -The offense controls the play so once the QB says hike, the ball must be given in.

    Delay of Game

    -If the ball is not snapped within 2 seconds of the hike call (we won't enforce every tenth of a second) the offense will be rewarded 5 yards.

    -If the offense doesn't call hike, they will lose 5 yards.

    •  On 4 th down, the offensive team can decide whether to go for it or punt it.

    If they go for it and fail to get a first down or score, there will be a turnover of downs and the defense takes over possession.

    •  Punting works as follows: a player on the receiving team of the punt has to give the ball in once the punter calls "hike".

    -If the Defense did not use their blitz yet, they may use it during the punt and try to sack the punter.

    A sacked punter will result in a turnover of downs from the spot of the sack.

    -If the blitz was already used, the hiker counts "1 rush, 2 rush, 3 rush" and can than rush the punter (same rules apply if punter is sacked).

    -Upon punting the ball, there will be no fair catches since we are not playing tackle football.

    -Illegal blocks such as blocks to the back or holding on a block will result in a 5-yard loss from the spot of the foul regardless of how far the runner returned the ball.

    There are no fakes - the punter can never try to run or pass to a teammate.  

    Penalties

    •  Holding , in the middle of an offensive play (as apposed to on a punt) will result in a 10-yard loss from the spot of the foul. For holding on a punt, see rule #16 above.

    On 4 th down, the offensive team can decide whether to go for it or punt it. If they go for it and fail to get a first down or score, the other team takes over possession going the other way.

    •  Picks/Screens by the offense are illegal whether they are intentional or not. Should there be a pick, the referee will throw a flag. CONTINUE THE PLAY UNTIL THE PLAY IS OVER . The defense is allowed to decline the play. (For example; if it's an incomplete pass or just a short yard gain, they can forget about the pick and just give them the loss of down if the defense should choose so. If it is a completed, there will be a do-over down.) There will be no yardage loss or gain on picks.

    •  Defensive Passing Interference will result in a do-over down and an extra 10 yards from the line of scrimmage rewarded to the offense. If the offensive team is within 10 yards of opposing teams' end zone, offense is rewarded in yardage half the distance to the goal. If the extra 10 yards put you over the 50-yard line, you will receive a first down. Defensive passing interference in the end zone will result in a do-over down and a 15-yard gain from the line of scrimmage.

    •  "Flagrant" passing interference means if a player is wide open and defensive player pushes him or holds his arms down and he is not making a play on the ball. The penalty will be possession for the offensive team at the spot of the foul. First down will not be automatic unless they cross the 50 on the play.

    •  Offensive Passing Interference will result in a loss of down and a 10-yard loss or half the distance to the goal (if within 10 yards from own end zone) from the line of scrimmage. If the ball is intercepted, penalty can be declined by the defense (you may not want to decline, for example if the penalty was on fourth down, you might have better field position if you take over on downs instead of on the interception).

    •  Forward laterals will result in the offensive teams' ball from the spot of where he forward lateraled it- no loss or gain of yards. However, if the ball is fumbled on an illegal lateral and the defensive team recovers, it will be their ball going the other way in which they can pick it up and run with it until they are touched. If the offensive team recovers it, they will maintain possession from where the ball was illegally lateraled .  

    The refs won't be so strict on offsides or false starts . Unless it's a blatant substantial false start or off sides we won't be implementing this rule to its fullest.

    •  All penalty calls are judgment calls by the Referees.

    No one has the perfect eye; respect all penalties and touchdown calls.

    •  There are no challenges, as we do not have game cameras. Continue playing until play is over, because declining a penalty may sometimes be the best choice.

    •  Any other rules not stated, are decisions of the commissioners of the tournament.

    Touc hdown Celebrations are encouraged!!!!!!!