Quiz 004 — Blocks, Helmets and Illegal Participation

Source: 2025 NFHS Football Rules Book + Case Book (Rule 9)
Level: Expert
Questions: 10
Scope: 11-player football, no state adoptions in effect unless stated.

Questions

1. Two blocks or one?

A1 contacts B1 with a legal block above the waist. The contact causes both players to stop or bounce backward slightly, and then: (a) A1 immediately continues his charge and blocks B1 below the waist; or (b) A1 recoils, resets, and then blocks B1 below the waist. Both occur outside the free-blocking zone. Legal or illegal in each, and what is the distinguishing principle?

2. He jumped into it

R1 rushes in to block a punt by K1. K2 moves to block R1 and the direction of K2's block is above the waist; just before contact, R1 leaps into the air to block the punt and K2's contact lands below R1's waist. Ruling — and what one change in R1's movement would flip the answer?

3. Horse collar, three spots

A's ball, third and 10 from A's 10. A25 is running in the open field and B1 brings him down with an illegal horse collar: (a) at the 50 after grabbing him at A's 45; (b) at A's 25 after grabbing him at A's 30, the runner having retreated on his own to A's 25; or (c) on B's 4, with A25 dragging B1 into B's end zone. Give the exact result of each.

4. Horse collar across the sideline

A's ball, fourth and 8 from B's 40. A1 advances 7 yards, where B1 commits an illegal horse collar — the collar is grabbed one yard inbounds — and B1 pulls him down (a) inbounds at B's 33, or (b) just out of bounds, A1 crossing the sideline at B's 33. Result in each, including the down and series?

5. Helmet off, ball on the ground

B54's helmet comes completely off during an attempt to tackle A32. A32 then fumbles, and B54: (a) without disengaging, completes his tackle of A32, who recovers; (b) without disengaging, completes his tackle and, on contacting the ground, recovers the ball that has fallen directly below him; (c) disengages immediately and tries to recover a fumble that has rolled away from the two players; or (d) tackles A32 and then attempts to recover the fumble. Legal or foul in each, and who leaves the field?

6. One step, two rulings

Third and 10 from B's 40. A1's forward pass is intercepted by B1 on B's 20 and returned to midfield. End A2 accidentally steps on the sideline at B's 30 — (a) before, or (b) after the interception — and in both cases returns inbounds at B's 25, making no attempt to catch the ball or tackle B1. Ruling in each?

7. Twelfth man under a punt

Fourth and 15 on K's 30. R1 enters the game as the 12th player while K1's punt is in the air. R2 catches the punt at R's 35 and returns it to R's 42, where he is tackled. What is the foul, from what spot is it enforced, and what is the down and distance afterward?

8. He wasn't a kicker yet

K1, in scrimmage-kick formation, muffs the snap, quickly recovers, and begins to run. K1 then changes his mind and (a) punts on the run; or (b) abruptly stops and punts. R1 cannot stop his charge and forcibly contacts K1. R1 never touched the kick. Ruling in each — and what fact would make it roughing regardless?

9. The snapper's gap

From a scrimmage-kick formation, A1 snaps to up-back A2, who is 3 yards behind the line and offset 1 yard from the snapper. A2 runs for a 10-yard gain. Immediately after the snap started, B7 charges (a) directly into the snapper; or (b) into the gap between the snapper and the adjacent A player, making simultaneous contact with both. In both, the snapper had no opportunity to defend himself and was displaced. Ruling in each?

10. Live-ball foul, dead-ball penalty

A1 is illegally in motion at the snap. The play goes to the sideline, where one of B's coaches makes unintentional contact with a game official. How many penalties, in what order, and why is the timing of the coach's contact irrelevant?

Answer Key

1. (a) is a legal block; (b) is an illegal block below the waist. A block may go below the waist if it is part of a continuous block or continuous charge after first contact above the waist. Once A1 recoils, retreats or resets, the low contact is treated as a second block and is illegal. Case 9.3.2 SIT J; Rules 2-3-7, 9-3-2

2. Legal block by K2. The initial direction of the block was above the waist, and R1's leap is what produced the low contact — his own movement absolved K2. This would not be true if R1 had changed direction laterally; in that case the initial blocking contact must be above the opponent's waist. Case 9.3.2 SIT I; Rule 2-3-7

3. All three are running plays, so the foul is enforced from the end of the run. (a) Enforced from the 50 — first and 10 for A at B's 35. (b) Enforced from A's 25, the end of the run, not from where he was grabbed — first and 10 for A at A's 40. (c) The touchdown is scored and A may enforce the penalty on the try or on the subsequent kickoff. Case 9.4.3 SIT Q; Rules 9-4-3o, 10-4-4

4. Both (a) and (b): first and 10 for A at B's 18. The horse collar is enforced as a live-ball foul from the end of the run, and because the accepted penalty carries A past the line to gain, A is awarded a new series — the fact that the runner ended up out of bounds in (b) changes nothing. Case 9.4.3 SIT R; Rules 9-4-3o, 10-4-4

5. (a) Legal. (b) The recovery is legal provided all the contact was in the immediate area. (c) and (d) are illegal participation. Once the helmet is completely off, the player must cease involvement, but he is not penalized for finishing the immediate action he was already engaged in. In every branch B54 must leave the field for at least one play. Case 9.6.4 SIT H; Rules 3-5-10d, 9-6-4g

6. (a) Illegal participation, spot of the foul at B's 25 where he returned inbounds. (b) No foul. A2's return inbounds is a foul only if he went out of bounds before the change of possession; going out after the interception carries no restriction, and whether he tried to make a play is irrelevant either way. Case 9.6.1 SIT B; Rule 9-6-1

7. Illegal participation by R1, enforced from the post-scrimmage kick spot — R's 35, where the kick ended. First and 10 for R after enforcement. The 12th player entering during the down and participating is a 15-yard illegal-participation foul, and because it is an R foul beyond the expanded neutral zone during a scrimmage kick, PSK enforcement governs rather than the end of R2's run. Case 9.6.1 SIT D; Rules 2-41-6, 9-6-4a, 10-4-3

8. No foul in either (a) or (b), because it was not reasonably certain K1 was going to punt after he recovered the muff and began to run. But contact that could have been avoided is always roughing the kicker, whether or not a kick appeared imminent — only unavoidable contact is ignored when a kick is not reasonably certain. Case 9.4.5 SIT B; Rule 9-4-5

9. (a) Roughing the snapper — a loose-ball foul, 15 yards from the previous spot plus an automatic first down. (b) No foul. There is no requirement that the ball be kicked or that a deep back receive the snap for the snapper's protection to exist. But the protection does not extend to simultaneous contact with another A player, and it does not take away the center-guard gap from B; the prohibition covers only a direct charge into the snapper. Case 9.4.6 SIT A; Rules 2-32-14, 9-4-6

10. Both fouls are penalized: first the live-ball foul for A's illegal motion, then 15 yards for the unintentional contact by B's coach. Rule 9-4-8 is a nonplayer foul, and nonplayer fouls are administered as dead-ball fouls even though the contact occurred while the ball was live — which is exactly why they do not pair with the live-ball foul into a double foul. Case 9.4.8 SIT D; Rules 2-16-2f, 9-4-8, 10-4-5c