HT721

Stated it was because of lack of participation, I'm not sure if they don't have enough to field a team or if they just don't have enough to field a team safely against a 5a school. I honestly never thought this game should have been scheduled to begin with. Harlan Independent is a dying program.

Whatever game I see first, I’m just ready to see the lights pop on. The worst games I’ve ever been to have still been pretty good.

CA Collins - One of the best running backs in the state.

 

Waddle or Weddle kid from Indiana - Supposed to be a tremendous WR.

 

William Long - A top 20 lineman in KY and the strongest high schooler in KY.

 

Heck of an off season haul.

It’s definitely some good puzzle pieces added and other than maybe Leslie they should romp through the district, but I still don’t see them competing with Mayfield, Beechwood, Somerset, Danville, and LCA for the 2a crown. They probably are a 6-10 ranked team but they aren’t in the top tier, even with the additions.

Ole Miss and Yale.

Breathitt had really fallen on hard times over the past five or six years, but I expect the Bobcats to be one of the best teams in the East this year.

I just don't see it they barely and I mean barely beat McCreary Central in the open round of the playoffs last year, it would be a huge stretch for them to go from a 1 point first round win over McCreary to an eastern half contender.

For some reason I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around and understanding the first rule you mention about the LOS. How is this functionally different from the previous rule?

You no longer need 2 receivers on the line to be legal and in theory could snap the ball with only 6 players on the field. I don’t ever see anyone snapping the ball with 6 players but it is legal to do so now.

It’s frankly just easier to count too. If a team comes out with the 5 players on the line numbered 50-79 then you know they are legal so long as there aren’t more four in the backfield.

New rule books arrived yesterday so I thought today would be a good day to address the various changes to the rules this year. I will save the 40/25 second play clock change for later as I need to read it a bit to make sure I'm not wrong when discussing it. But these are the other changes for this year:

7-2-5-a : At the snap, at least five A players shall be on their line of scrimmage and no more than four A players may be backs.

(Previous rule required 7 men to be on the line of scrimmage. Change was made to make it easier for officials to determine if a formation is legal. Now Referees and Umpires on the field can determine if five players are on the line of scrimmage just by looking at the offensive line and your short wings can determine if there are four people in the backfield.)

9-4-3-o:No player or non player shall trip an opponent.

(tripping a ball carrier was legal in previous years, it is now illegal to trip a ball carrier. Per definitions tripping is defined in 2-45: Tripping is the intentional use of the lower leg or foot to obstruct an opponent below the knee.)

9-4-3-k: No player or non player shall grab the inside back or side collar, or the name plate ares (directly below the back collar), of either the shoulder pads or the jersey of the runner and subsequently pull (backwards or sideward) that opponent to the ground (horse-collar), eve if possession is lost, The horse- collar foul is enforced as a live- ball foul.

( Basically if you grab the jersey name plate area now it's a horse collar tackle)

9-7 and 6-2-1 penalties changed illegal kicking and batting from a 15 yard penalty to a 10 yard penalty.

8-5-2-a had an editorial clarification that stated that for the momentum exception to apply, the ball must remain in the end zone after the player's momentum causes it to enter the end zone.

St. X was listed on their honorable mention.

This sounds interesting. Do we know who all is playing in this event yet?

Highlands is playing Knoxville Catholic and Corbin is playing Notre Dame TN

Seeing Highlands play Knoxville Catholic in a bowl game at Corbin then spending quality time with my wife. The Bluebirds have never played a team from Tennessee. Brian Weinrich set this bowl up with Corbin Head Coach Justin Haddix. I spoke to Justin before the Highlands at LexCath game last year. Great guy.

Corbin always puts on a quality night in the Pigskin Classic, if anyone is looking for good football that Saturday you are guaranteed 4 really good teams will square off.

Friday nights with my crew, followed by meeting up with other crews at a restaurant for around the region recaps. Most Friday nights we have 4 to 5 crews all wind up at the same restaurant and we sit around and talk about the night and life, it's honestly some of the most enjoyable guy times I have.

1) Boyle County

2) Johnson Central

3) Franklin-Simpson

4) Anderson County

5) Corbin

6) Central

7) Madisonville

8) Lexington Catholic

9) Franklin County

10) Knox Central

 

I don’t believe there is a huge gap between us and 10. I see all 10 being very solid with 1 through 6 having a shot. I don’t understand the Anderson hate. They bring back almost their entire team from last year and lose Collins but get Labhart which at worst is a wash. They will be 2-6 by seasons end. Top 6 are stacked. 4A is the best class in football this year.

 

Reese Smith best player.

It's not really hate Anderson just needs to prove it to me on the field, their schedule lacks teeth so it's hard to get a gauge on them and how good are they really? I'd be really curious for your justification of having Boyle so far ahead of Central and Corbin when Corbin blanked Boyle 21-0 last year before losing to Central.

I’m not trying to sidetrack the thread and I’m not being sarcastic either. Is there any class that this doesn’t hold true?

 

4A is tough and could be the most loaded class.

I think that is generally true across the board yes.

I don’t see Anderson County as nearly a big a player as I do Corbin, Boyle, and Central. Anderson County is decent but probably 7-10 range in 4a and a huge gap between the top handful of teams and everyone else.

I thought this week we would look at blocking below the waist and compare it to the NCAA rule since many people that complain about a high school call compare it to what they see on TV over the weekend. The two versions have some major differences and I will elaborate some more on philosophy on this in the high school game after everyone has a change to read this and talk about it a bit, but the bottom line is the NCAA allows a lot more blocking below the waist than the high schools rules do, so if you see something flagged on Friday night that's legal on Saturday it shouldn't shock you.

NFHS

2-3-7

Blocking below the waist is making initial contact below the waist from the front or side against an opponent other than a runner. Contact with an opponent's hand(s) below the waist that continues into the body below the waist is considered blocking below the waist. blocking below the waist applies only when the opponent has one or both feet on the ground.

9-3-2

A player shall not block an opponent below the waist except:

a. In the free blocking zone with the contact meets the requirements of 2-17.

b. To tackle a runner or player pretending to be a runner.

9-3-2 penalties: Blocking Below the waist - (S40) - 15 yards

2-17-2

Blocking below the waist is permitted in the free-blocking zone when the following conditions are met:

a. All players involved in the blocking are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap.

b. The contact is in the zone.

2-17-4

The free-blocking zone disintegrates and the exception for a player to block below the waist and/or the exception for an offensive lineman to block in the back is not to continue after the ball has left the zone.

NCAA RULES

2-3-2

Below Waist

ARTICLE 2. a. A block below the waist is a block in which the force of the initial contact is below the waist of an opponent who has one or both feet on the ground. When in question, the contact is below the waist (Rule 9-1-6).

b. A blocker who makes contact above the waist and then slides below the

waist has not blocked below the waist. If the blocker first contacts the opposing player’s hands at the waist or above, it is a legal “above the waist’’ block (Rule 9-1-6).

9-1-6

ARTICLE 6. a. Team A prior to a change of team possession:

Linemen with initial position completely inside the tackle box may legally block below the waist inside the tackle box until the ball leaves the tackle box. All other Team A players are allowed to block below the waist only if the force of the initial contact is directed from the front. “Directed from the front” is defined as within the clock face region between “10 o’clock and 2 o’clock” forward of the area of concentration of the player being blocked.

Exceptions:

1. Team A players may not block below the waist when the block occurs five yards or more beyond the neutral zone.

2. Players outside the tackle box at the snap, or any time after the snap, or in motion at the snap may not block below the waist toward the original position of the ball at the snap.

3. Once the ball has left the tackle box, a player may not block below the waist toward his own end line.

The new realignment favors Leslie County a lot, the Eagles will make some noise in 2A, they aren't state title contenders but they will be one of the forces to be reckoned with in the eastern half of 2A.

2-3-1 also defines blocking, a stiff arm is a block it is just a block by a runner.

The blocker’s hand(s) may not be locked nor may he swing, throw or flip the elbow or forearm so that it is moving faster than the blocker’s shoulders at the time the elbow, forearm or shoulder contacts the opponent. The blocker may not initiate contact with his arm or hand against an opponent above the opponent’s shoulder, but he may use his hand or arm to break a fall or maintain his balance.

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ART. 4 ... An offensive player may also use his hands or arms:

a. When he is a runner, to ward off or push any player.

b. During a kick, to ward off an opponent who is attempting to block him.

c. To push, pull or ward off an opponent when the ball is loose if he may legally touch or possess the ball if such contact is not pass interference, a personal foul or illegal use of hands.

So a ball carrier stiff arm to the helmet of a tackler is targeting?

Yes, rule 2-3-3 and 2-3-4 reads as follows:

3 The blocker’s hand(s) may not be locked nor may he swing, throw or flip the elbow or forearm so that it is moving faster than the blocker’s shoulders at the time the elbow, forearm or shoulder contacts the opponent. The blocker may not initiate contact with his arm or hand against an opponent above the opponent’s shoulder, but he may use his hand or arm to break a fall or maintain his balance.

ART. 4 ... An offensive player may also use his hands or arms:

a. When he is a runner, to ward off or push any player.

b. During a kick, to ward off an opponent who is attempting to block him.

c. To push, pull or ward off an opponent when the ball is loose if he may legally touch or possess the ball if such contact is not pass interference, a personal foul or illegal use of hands.

I believe the key for an offense player is to not intimate contact, lowering your helmet is not a foul alone if you don’t intentionally initiate contact with the helmet I wouldn’t call it.

Do teams that win the 7v7 tournaments usually do well in the playoffs?

I wouldn't put any stock in to how a 7 on 7 tourney team will do in the regular season. It's touch football on a 40 yard field usually, and teams will often gamble more taking deep shots than they would in a real game. Also you get points for stops so maybe you have a good pass D coverage but your run D is horrible.

Since your local associations are starting to meet thought it would be a good time to get back to rules discussion on here. Since targeting is one of the hardest calls to make and probably the most unpopular one I thought we could start the summer discussing it. For my own opinion I believe the NFHS rule is written a lot better than the NCAA and NFL rule which is where most of the confusion on what is and isn't targeting is generated.

Rule 2-20-2

"Targeting is an act by any player who takes aim and initiates contact against an opponent above the shoulders with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulders"

9-4-3

"No player shall: (subsection m) target an opponent.

-9-4 Penalty Summary

9-4-3-m targeting an opponent (signal38-24) 15 yards.

Thanks for sharing this. This was challenging. I'll never be a HS referee with an 8/20 score.

Just gotta hit the books a little. The rule book is not as big as most people think in High School. The NCAA rule book is a different story, but the high school rule book can be learned relatively well in two or three seasons.

This link is to a good quiz on the high school rules if anyone is interested in testing their knowledge. This quiz is usually one of the first things I do as I start getting ready for the upcoming season, now that it's out I guess it's time to start studying again.

Football Officials Quiz 219 - Referee.com

Is this new? Regardless, I like it. I guarantee you there are officials listed here that people think are terrible. This recognition supports officials and perhaps those haters will rethink their opinion.

Officiating is like waking up in the morning you’ve not had your morning cup of Joe if someone hasn’t told you you are terrible at the game.

They have nice facilities we got sent there for a game last year, I don't know a lot about the demographics as far as being able to compete, but support seems to be there.