In the Albemarle-North Rowan game late in the 4th quarter the 4th down snap went over the Albemarle punters head and instead of recovering the ball the punter kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for what I thought would be ruled a safety for North Rowan. Albemarle was flagged for illegal kick, penalized 10 yards and also assessed with a loss of down,giving North the ball on Albemarle's 15 yard line. I talked with a friend who coaches at a high school in Rowan County and he said the same thing happened to them this year in a game and even showed me the video and they awarded the other team a safety. He said they even instruct their punter to kick it out of the end zone rather than give up the field position. A safety would have made a big difference in the Albemarle game and probably would have changed the outcome.If it was an illegal kick is it loss of down?
What is the correct call?
- Thread starter Dogs9
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Should have been a safety. Penalty enforced from spot just like a hold in the endzone or illegal pass spot of foul resulting in safety.
Talked to a friend who looked it up in the rule book and said it should have been a spot foul with a 10 yd penalty and replay 4th down...But the refs ruled a loss of down...No...anyway it probably cost us the win....
Several years ago Reidsville was playing West Stokes in Reidsville....WS was in punt formation and the ball was hiked over the punter...rolled into the end zone and the punter kicked it completely out of the stadium....over scoreboard and fence....Reidsville was awarded a safety.....Ref made a mistake in y'alls game.....................
I wish we still had the Ask the Ref forum. Some good questions about rules were always brought up. I'd say safety on this play.
He has a Facebook page called Ask the Ref if you want to ask him
Yep i talked to an official he said the white hat in that game if kicking him self over it. He made a mistake.
It is still there , just sorta obscure. It is under open discussion and when you start a thread it will ask you topic. That is where you select ask the ref.
Nothing wrong asking on football board though.
Well they spotted it and then awarded the 10 yards from the spot and North Rowan’s ball with the loss of down. From who I spoke with the call was an illegal kick should have been a spot foul plus the 10 yard penalty and replay 4th down the mistake was the loss of down. I’m sure the white hat is kicking himself but nothing can be done. Very unfortunate for the Bulldogs who played a hell of a game overall and very fortunate for North Rowan. Hoping they take out that frustration on NS this week.
It was a great game to watch hated to see it end like that. But that wasn’t the only call that was critical and missed. 4th down QB got shoved out of bounds from Albemarle he was turning to walk back on the field and NR player runs full speed into him with a line judge standing right there. Albemarle was already inside the 25 a first down and 15 yards with Albemarle up 33-22 at that point would have put the game away.
They shouldn't have gotten the ball period right? A safety is a safety and kickers are taught to kick the ball out of the endzone right? The play is on maxpreps by the way if anyone cares to see it. If there was a penalty wouldn't it have been applied on the following kickoff?
Kicking it out of the end zone should be the same penalty as if the punter turned and ran out of bounds through the end zone. Same result. I've always viewed an illegal kick as something done to retain possession of the ball aka a fumble then kick so nobody can get it.
The more I think about it you are correct. If they do not accept the penalty it is a safety. Two points and AHS free kicks from their twenty.
If they do accept the penalty it would seem the call would be move the ball back ten yards and replay the down (4th).
I have never heard of a punter being told to punt it out the back of the end zone but it is legal to do so. Secure the ball and take a knee or run out of back of the end zone.
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An illegal kick would be a loose ball and apparently not one where the player has control and makes an attempt at punting the ball. This would be the equivalent of a punter scrambling behind the line of scrimmage attempting to get a punt off.
Was just told by a former NCAA referee (retired two years ago) that called ACC football that the college rule on an illegal kick results in a loss of down. High school it does not result in a loss of down.
If the penalty is correctly called NR accepts the penalty and the ball is moved back ten yards (or half the distance to the goal line if inside the twenty) and repeat down. If they do not accept the penalty it is a safety and AHS free kicks from their twenty.
Was just told by a former NCAA referee (retired two years ago) that called ACC football that the college rule on an illegal kick results in a loss of down. High school it does not result in a loss of down.
If the penalty is correctly called NR accepts the penalty and the ball is moved back ten yards (or half the distance to the goal line if inside the twenty) and repeat down. If they do not accept the penalty it is a safety and AHS free kicks from their twenty.
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If your on your own 10 yard line and ball is rolling on the ground u don't have time to pick it up and run it out of the end zone bc u risk getting tackled on the 1 yard line...it's much better to kick it out of the end zone and get a safety. Giving up 2pts and the ball is better than giving up probably 7 pts.....u don't see this very often but say you r up 11 points and backed up to your goal line and not much time is left...it's better to take a safety and punt it off to other team because you will still be up 9 then risk a punt block and give them chance to score a touchdown. I have always heard punters r taught to kick the ball out of endzone to avoid giving the other team great field position on bad snap plays
He didn’t pick up the ball and punt it out on his own end zone. The snap was way over his head and the ball was rolling out on the ground and rather than being tackled by a defensive player who was right behind him he kicked the ball as it was rolling on the ground.I have seen the identical type play happen before on games on tv. I thought the Albemarle punter made a smart play.
No matter what the call was loss of down is what killed us..Gave NR the ball on our 15....From what I am reading on here it cannot be loss if down...
If the penalty is correctly called, is what I think you mean and everything you say would be correct.
My statement was based on the punter taking the snap in the end zone. I have never seen a punter turn and kick the ball out of the back of the end zone. If a punter is outside the end zone you are only giving up twenty yards from where you would free kick it. If they are scoring after receiving a punt from inside the twenty they are probably doing the same from the twenty.
Sportsnut, if an Albemarle player did not have control of the ball and intentionally kicked the loose ball is that not an illegal kick??
I can only hope that the refs that called this game read this and understand they made the totally wrong call so it doesn't happen again..You guys should know the rules if nothing else...
The correct call is they have options: Take the penalty from where the illegal kick happens with a 10 yard penalty assessment, replay 4th down or decline the penalty and take the safety.
So the fact that it’s a kick makes it different than taking the ball and intentionally running out of the back of the end zone?
Yes the illegal kick is a penalty, makes it different. There is no penalty for running out of the end zone.
Sportsnut, correct me if I am wrong. The issue oc is the player did not have control of the ball like he would a punt. It was on the ground from a bad snap.
When the ref was explaining the options to the coach for NR I'll bet his eyes lit up when he said loss of down...lol
That’s exactly what I was told. Which they did but hit with a loss of down which gave the ball to NR at the 15 with under 2 min left