YELLOWSTONE YOUTH FOOTBALL (YYF) RULES & REGULATIONS

Transcription

1 YELLOWSTONE YOUTH FOOTBALL (YYF) RULES & REGULATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I GOVERNANCE, PLAYER & COACH ELIGIBILITY... 2 GOVERNANCE... 2 PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:... 3 TEAM ROSTERS... 3 REGISTRATION... 4 DISK PLAYERS... 4 RETENTION OF PLAYER ELIGIBILITY... 6 COACHES REQUIREMENTS... 6 SIDELINE PERSONNEL... 7 ENFORCEMENT POLICY... 7 PART II FOOTBALL PLAYING RULES, EQUIPMENT, PRACTICES & GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION... 8 RULES... 8 EQUIPMENT AND FIELD / MARKINGS... 8 PLAYER DESIGNATIONS & REQUIRED EQUIPMENT... 9 BLOCKING AND TACKLING RESTRICTIONS... 9 PRACTICE GAME DETAILS (SPECIFIC TO YYF GAMES): C DIVISION SPECIFIC RULES MUST PLAY RULE: TIMING: SCORING VALUES, OVERTIME & MERCY RULE:

2 PART I GOVERNANCE, PLAYER & COACH ELIGIBILITY YYF (short for Yellowstone Youth Football) is an abbreviation used to identify Billings Yellowstone Youth Football. YYF IS HERE TO INSPIRE YOUTH, AND MAKE THE GAME "FUN" BY PROMOTING MAXIMUM SAFETY, PARTICIPATION, AND SPORTSMANSHIP. Refer to the league s website at: YYF is certified by and affiliated with USA Football. GOVERNANCE Billings Yellowstone Youth Football Board of Directors This is the structure by which Billings Yellowstone Youth Football (YYF) is organized and managed. Board of Directors (Board) The Board shall consist of a base of at least 8 directors not to exceed 30 directors and shall include the Executive Committee (EC). Alterations of the official policies, bylaws, rules, and articles of Billings Yellowstone Youth Football, as set forth in the Billings Yellowstone Youth Football Handbook require a majority vote of the Board. The Billings Yellowstone Youth Football Handbook is synonymous with the Bylaws of the corporation. Role of the Executive Committee (EC) Management of The Billings Yellowstone Youth Football League. It is the roll of the EC to oversee the operation of Billings Yellowstone Youth Football in a manner consistent with its status as a non-profit corporation registered with the State of Montana. The EC shall ensure that the YYF league is managed in a way that promotes its underlying philosophy as stated in this Document and list on the league s website. It is the responsibility of the Board to meet regularly to attend to the business of the corporation. It is the responsibility of the Board to constantly review YYF policy while seeking input from a wide range of resources. The Board assumes responsibility for the necessary revision and/or creation of YYF policies, rules and articles as found in the Billings Yellowstone Youth Football Handbook. It is the responsibility of the EC to enforce the policies, rules and articles of Billings YYF or to empower some subset of Board members or other entity or entities to enforce the league's handbook. Specific descriptions of duties of individual Board members are provided below. It is impossible for the Board to foresee every possible situation that might arise requiring Board action, or to clearly define exactly which actions require full Board approval and which can be 2

3 Yellowstone Youth Football players are assigned to teams using methods approved by the YYF Board. This assignment is based upon (1) player s age on September 10 th of the season, (2) the school they attend and (3) the time at which they sign up. Coaches shall conduct practices to the best of their ability at locations near the schools which most players attend. Variance/Waivers: Any variance/waiver to these rules and articles shall only be considered upon a written application submitted to the YYF EC. All decisions made by the EC are final. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY YYF is currently open for participation to any area youth athlete age 9 to 13. The effective date for age determination is September 10. Players who turn 9 on or before September 10 th and player who do not turn age 14 on or before September 10 th are eligible to participate. Restriction against Dual Participation: It is the strong recommendation that no YYF member or team may be active in any other youth football program during said YYF season. It will be up to the individual head coaches to make the final decision (on whether to allow a player to participate on his / her YYF team) know that said player is involved in another league. Practice participation should be the governing factor when coaches are determining playing time during games. YYF recommends that any player with a school sponsored program play with his classmates in that school sponsored program. YYF will not deny eligibility if a player has a school sponsored program. TEAM ROSTERS Certified rosters: The league shall use a EC-approved method to assign all players to the teams they are to play for. Coaches are required to submit back to the league a full team roster (using the league-approved roster form) prior to the first game. The roster will be certified as accurate via the signature of the head coach. The league shall maintain a copy of each certified roster. Team rosters are fixed and any changes must conform to league rules as stated below. Players shall show proof of age with a copy of their birth certificate on or before their first practice. This normally will occur at equipment check out and player weigh-in. Roster size. Not more than 32 players and not less than 14 players shall be certified onto a team roster. YYF attempts to keep rosters between players as an ideal size however, this is not always possible. Minimum Roster. A minimum of 14 players must be dressed and eligible to play at each game. If a team fails to dress the minimum it will forfeit the game as outlined

4 Drops and Adds. A team may have players added to its certified roster by the league. This may occur as a result of late registration or in order to replace a player that has left the team for a valid reason. Loss of players or addition of new players by the league must be recorded in an updated, certified roster. There shall be no players added to any roster without proper board approval. The approval must come from the vote of the YYF executive committee (EC). Any additions to a roster that are not authorized may result in expulsion, and forfeiture of games. Movement of players during the year within the league whether up or down a division or to another team must have EC approval. Roster checks and use on ineligible players: Each season, a minimum of one roster check will be performed by a YYF board member on each team prior to a game. Upon request by the board member, the coach must comply with the request to perform the roster check. No players or coaches will be allowed to leave for any reason during this check. REGISTRATION A player candidate cannot begin practice with a team until they have "signed up" and have been assigned to that team by the league. To register, a player must register on-line on the YYF website. The player registration fee will be collected at that time. There are certain designated In-Person sign-ups for players without means of internet access. Player & Parental consent: Each player and the player s parent or guardian must sign and turn in their respective Code of Conduct forms to their respective coach prior to playing in the first game. Player and Parent Code of Conduct forms are available on the league s website or at the league s office. Players / Parents will not sign this form prior to informing the league of any physical issues the player may have that could hinder their performance. Due to the demand of the sport any serious health issues should be discussed prior to players and parents/guardians consenting to play the game of football. Proof of age. A Certified copy of the birth certificate is required at the time of sign up for all players registering to play Yellowstone Youth Football. The birth certificate must bear the seal of the issuing office of the state of birth. People involved in registration: If possible, only non-coaching personnel will be involved in the registration and team assignment process. The EC will determine who participates in registration and team assignments. Board members who are coaches may be assigned to review rosters for accuracy after assignment, and prior to circulation to coaches. DISK PLAYERS All players will be weighed during equipment check in. Players failing to weigh-in will be considered a disk until a future certified weigh in date. 4

5 Every player will weigh-in using a YYF calibrated scale in the presence of an appointed YYF official. The player may remove their shoes and excess clothing during the weigh-in process. Once the players' weight is certified and established i t i s o f f i c i a l a n d cannot be disputed for the entire season. Players exceeding the DISK weight at the initial weigh in or subsequent (mid-season) weigh-in will be DISK players for the remainder of the season. Players with-in 5 lbs of the disk weight at their original sign up must RE-WEIGH at Midseason. RE-WEIGHS be held prior to games on the first Saturday in October at the equipment shed or referee shack. A 2 pound growth allowance will be given. Coaches will be provided a list of those players who must Re-Weigh, the week of the Weigh-Ins. CURRENT DISK WEIGHTS C=100 pounds must reweigh B=115 pounds must reweigh A=140 pounds must reweigh A player MAY NOT reweigh to go down in weight. We do not condone losing weight, sweating or cutting weight to be under a disk weight. Once a disk weight has been registered, that player is disk for the entire season. YYF will assign an official helmet stripe to all players who are designated as disk players. Players will be notified of their status by their coaches, and the coach will be required to attach the proper stripe to the players' equipment. This will be completed after the teams are dispersed to ensure players are in the division they are going to be in. No player shall be allowed to play without his or her weight being certified and on record. Failure to comply may lead to suspension from the league, or being forced to play as a disk player for the remainder of the season. Any player who is designated as a disk player that tampers with or removes the disk designation will be suspended. Any coach who uses this player in a game at a position that requires a non-disk player may be suspended. Upon board review, if there is an indication that this player had an impact on the game outcome and/or score, the game may be deemed a forfeit. Offense 1. Disk players must play on the offensive line between the Tight Ends (TE s). They shall be on the line of scrimmage LOS. They shall be considered ON the line of scrimmage if any part of their body is within 1 yard of the LOS. 2. Disk players are NOT eligible receivers at any time and cannot be lined up as an eligible receiver. Defense 5

6 3. Disk players must play on the defensive line between the outside shade of the Tight Ends. If no TE is in the formation, the DE must play "outside shade" of the offensive tackle. Outside Shade is defined as at least one part of the defenders frame lined up with at least one part of the offensive player's frame. 4. Disk players MAY advance the football on a fumble recovery or an interception only. 5. Disk Players may punt on the offense; but if the ball is snapped to a Disk Player in the punt formation, he must kick the ball or the ball is considered dead at that point. RETENTION OF PLAYER ELIGIBILITY Once certified, a player must meet the following requirements: 1. Retain parental consent. 2. Maintain sound physical condition. COACHES REQUIREMENTS The coaching staff of a team is in complete charge of the team whenever it is together on the practice field, whether it is traveling as a group to and from practice sessions, and games, or wherever it is together for any team function. The coaching staff is under the direction of one of its members who is called the Head Coach; other coaches are called Assistant Coaches. Head coach must be at least 21 years of age. All coaches must be certified by USA Football including HEADS UP CERTIFIED. All coaches must read and sign the Coaches Code of Conduct prior to coaching any practice or game. Assistant coaches must be at least 18 years of age, or high school graduates. A team may have a maximum of 5 assistant coaches, plus a maximum of 1 coach trainee. Teams are permitted to carry a coach's trainee, who must be a minimum of 16 years of age. The head coach will determine the assignments of the assistant coaches, and will be in total control of the assistant coaches and helpers at all YYF practices and games. YYF Executive Committee withholds the right to approve or disprove any assistant coaches at any time during the season. 6

7 Sideline Coaching: The head coach is in charge to ensure a proper sideline demeanor is kept. Excessive screaming, yelling, and other antic's are not acceptable behavior. YYF expects the head coach and their assistants to act in a professional manner. Coaches are to remain in the designated coaching boxes; going out on the field of play is not acceptable. The head coach has the final responsibility for his actions, those of his assistant coaches, players and additional staff. Coaches do not make team or YYF policy, rather they carry it out. However, on the playing or practice fields the coaching staff is in charge of the play and conduct of his or her players. NOTE: A second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the same person automatically results in being ejected from the game. Any unsportsmanlike penalty against the fans is attached to the head coach of that team. Furthermore, as per MHSA rules, any time a coach is removed from a game for unsportsmanlike activity, that coach will miss the next game as well regardless of the circumstance. For example, a coach could miss a playoff or the Rocky Bowl game as a result of being removed from the previous game. When a coach is removed from the game, he/she MUST leave the game area immediately. Plus, that coach cannot be in the game area during the suspension for the following game. SIDELINE PERSONNEL In addition to the coaching staff, a team may have additional support personnel positioned within the team box during the game. The total number of team support personnel, to include coaches, in a team shall not exceed 6 including a play counter. ENFORCEMENT POLICY Billings Yellowstone Youth Football will be called upon from time to time to do the following: Resolve disputes between teams and individuals Take action to enforce YYF policies, rules and regulations Discipline both adult and juvenile members No protests are allowed in Yellowstone Youth Football All decisions rendered by the EC are final. 7

8 RULES PART II FOOTBALL PLAYING RULES, EQUIPMENT, PRACTICES & GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION Except as specifically modified for Yellowstone Youth Football, all games are to be played under the Montana High School Association varsity football rules which are based on the National Federation of High School rules. For specific information, see: MHSA penalties that are 15 yards are all enforced as 10 yards. When a rule interpretation is needed, the MHSA Rule Book shall apply as interpreted by the YYF Referee (White Hat) and a YYF Board member (if available and not involved with the game). YYF will make every effort to resolve any rule interpretations in a prompt manner to keep up the pace of play. No protests will be recognized or allowed in YYF all game results are final. Should a rule interpretation be necessary after a game, a formal request should be submitted to the EC, and it will be ruled upon and disclosed prior to the next week s games. EQUIPMENT AND FIELD / MARKINGS Two different game balls will be approved for play. No other balls are eligible in games. 1. C & B will use the either TAG (TCF 304J) or Under Armor (UA497). Junior size. 2. A will use either the TAG (TCF 308Y) or Under Armour (UA496). Youth size. All molded rubber or plastic cleats are legal, including removable cleats as long as NO portion of the metal is exposed at any time. It is the coaches responsibility to ensure his players are legally equipped. Violation of this rule will result in a 2 game suspension for both the player and the Head Coach. Only clear visors are allowed. No equipment timeouts will be allowed for visor issues. The bench area is reserved exclusively for the players, coaches, and authorized team personnel only. A 1-2-yard area is reserved for the chain crew. Coaches / Field Advocates must make an honest attempt at keeping the bench area clear of fans. The 80 yard field is used in all divisions unless one is unavailable. Goal posts and other field components should be sized accordingly. When markings and lines are available they will be the official point for all of the necessary game measurements. The use of stick-um on the football or the application and use of such on any players' hands are not allowed. Any and all other forms or products that are designed to, or abet a player's ability are not allowed. 8

9 PLAYER DESIGNATIONS & REQUIRED EQUIPMENT YYF will provide game jerseys for all Full Paying players / teams. Numbers shall be 1-99 inclusive. Numbers such as "O" and "00" are considered illegal and shall not be worn. The players in all divisions, beginning with physical contact in practice sessions, shall wear the following equipment. 1. Helmet: only helmets bearing the NOCSAE seal of certification may be worn. YYF suggests you use the helmet assigned to you. In the event you use your own it must be NOCSAE approved. No stickers may be placed on the helmets. 2. Shoulder Pads covered with a jersey 3. Pant: one piece or shell 4. Hip Pads 5. Thigh Guards 6. Knee Pads 7. Tail Pad 8. Jersey (league assigned for games) 9. Mouth Guard. COLORED MOUTH GUARDS are required. 10. Shoes: In all divisions, only sneakers or rubber cleated shoes are allowed. No metal may be showing on shoes. 11. Eye Glasses: when worn, shall be of athletically approved construction with non-shattering glass (safety glasses) or contact lenses. The glasses should be secured with aband to the players head 12. Any other equipment worn by players must be approved by YYF 13. Players or coaches may not irreversibly alter league-owned equipment and may not attach decorative patches or stickers to the uniforms. Parents may be asked to pay for cleaning or replacement of altered equipment. 14. Only clear visors are allowed. No equipment timeouts will be allowed for visor issues. BLOCKING AND TACKLING RESTRICTIONS Blocking below the waist outside of the tackle to tackle blocking zone in any scrimmage play is illegal and will result in a 10 yard penalty. A player involved in a legal below the waist block must be on the line of scrimmage and within the blocking zone at the snap, and the block must be made within the blocking zone. Using the helmet or face mask as a primary contact is illegal and shall result in a 10 yard penalty. YYF discourages the use of the face mask or the helmet as a point of impact. No butt blocking, chop blocking, no form of interlocking blocking, face tackling, or spearing techniques are allowed in YYF. If a YYF coaches teach such techniques, said coaches may be dismissed from the program, subsequent to a hearing by the EC. 9

10 Defense Bear crawling at the legs, or cutting blockers below the waist by any defensive player in order to create a pile or to stop an advancing blocker is not allowed in YYF for safety reasons. A defensive player may tackle a ball carrier below the waist. Offense Blocking or making initial contact below the waist by an offensive player (cut blocks or chop blocks etc) is not allowed. If initial contact is made legally above the waist and then maintained without interruption, an offensive player may slide to the lower half of the body to finish that block. No offensive player may aid a runner by pushing, pulling, dragging, lifting, blocking or otherwise assisting the runner in order to advance the football. Wedge Blocking Rule: Because YYF does not allow the defense to cut an offensive player s legs an interlocking or wedge play where the offensive lineman places his hands on an adjacent offensive lineman is illegal because it creates an advantage for the offense. Any use of hands that connects one player to a fellow blocker will be deemed as interlocked blocking and subject to an offensive holding penalty. This includes holding hands, pushing on the back, grabbing shoulder pads, belt loops, hip pads or any other use of hands that connects 2 or more offensive players. YYF recognizes the use of the Flipper method for offenses that run a Wedge play that is legal. This method allows adjacent offensive linemen to shoulder block together similar to a double team block. Adjacent lineman can place elbows/shoulders together to form a traditional wedge blocking play. Additionally, pushing on the back of the runner is illegal per NFHS rules. PRACTICE To prevent possible bending of the rules and as a protection of the players, practices are defined as a gathering of players without minimum number, requiring the presence of at least one coach, where one or more of the following activities take place: Chalk talk I skill session Viewing of fundamental films Group conditioning Individual skill sessions (QB, receiving, etc) Group skill session (offense, defense, etc) Dummies or inanimate contact Play run through without pads Play run through with equipment, but no contact Intra-squad or inter-squad scrimmages No Sunday practices. Any event including a coach and at least 5 players will be considered a practice and this includes viewing films. No practices on Stewart Park playing fields at anytime Thus it can be seen a so called "party" at a coaches home, where films are shown, or where football is talked about, can be deemed a practice All practices should occur within the boundaries of the assigned team. 10

11 No team may schedule more than 2 hours of practice per day before the first scheduled league games. No Sunday practices are allowed. Hot weather practices require at least one 15 minute water break which is not counted against the 2 hours. Any other breaks do count against the 2 hours. Therefore, the longest allowable practice time (from start to finish) is 2 hours and 15 minutes. No team shall allow player to player contact until you have had 3 days of no contact practice. After the first Scheduled Games: Practices after the first scheduled league games are limited to 3 days per week. 1. Practices after the first scheduled league games are limited to the same time restrictions set forth in section 4 above. 2. Mid-week games count as a practice. 3. Teams that make the playoffs are subject to the same practice restrictions 4. as during the regular season following the first game. However, teams that win semifinal games may practice every week day (not Sunday) in preparation for the Rocky Bowl. There can only be one practice per day and the practices will conform to the same time restrictions as are in place for the regular season. Controlled scrimmages are allowed after the first week of practice. Scrimmages may be held as intra-squad or with another team in the same division. Scrimmages cannot be held after the first day of scheduled league games. Scrimmages can not involve teams from outside of the YYF league or any players who are not registered in YYF. Scrimmages must be approved by a Board Member or Commissioner. GAME DETAILS (SPECIFIC TO YYF GAMES): # of Plays: All Divisions 25 plays per quarter YYF counts all plays up to 25 plays a quarter. PAT kicks do count towards the 25 plays (Except in C Division). Punts do count towards the play counts. A PAT at the end of the half or quarter is an uncounted play Ball Placement: At the beginning of each game / half, and after the (PAT) is attempted the ball will be placed on the 25 yard line. After a safety, the receiving team (the team that scored the safety) will get the ball on the defensive team's 35 yard line. After a missed field goal, the defensive team will get the ball at line of scrimmage or no less than the 35 yard line. A blocked field goal is dead when blocked. All PATS & Field Goals are considered live plays. Fake FGs and PAT attempts are allowed and full rush is available. (See C Division exception to this rule.) The center position is 100% protected (no touch) on all PAT and FG attempts. 11

12 Kickoffs There will be no kick-offs ALL DIVISIONS There will be NO KICKOFFS in any division in order to protect against high speed collisions. The ball will be placed on the X painted on each field at the 25 yard line at the change of possession that would typically be a kick-off. Punts B& C Division PUNTING There will be no live rush on punts in B or C Division. Teams must declare on 4 th down whether they wish to punt or go for it. No fake punts will be allowed. Punters must be 5 yards farther behind the LOS. The offense and defense is not allowed to move until the ball is punted. If the punter mishandles the snap he must punt the ball from where he regains control of the ball as long as he is beyond 5 yards from the LOS. Defenses (punt return teams) must have 8 players within 5 yards of the LOS at the snap and until the ball in punted. The snapped ball and punter must stay within the field of play prior to and during the punt or a safety or turnover on downs can occur. If a snapped ball goes through the back of the end zone, it is a safety. If the snapped ball goes out of bounds before recovered by the offense. The ball is turned over at the point where it was out of bounds. C-Division Punting: The punting team formation shall consist of a 7-man line of scrimmage. The line splits of 1 yard between linemen is relaxed to 2 yards, however it shall still be a 7 main line. C DIVISION SPECIFIC RULES Offense 1. Offensive Line Players: Offenses must run a double TE balanced formation. Three offensive players shall be on the line of scrimmage on each side of the center and set prior to the snap of the football. Each of the players on the tight seven-man line of scrimmage shall not have line splits greater than 1 yard apart. This means that the distance from one lineman s foot to the adjacent lineman is no further than 1 yard. 2. Offensive Backfield Players: There are no restrictions on Backfield player alignments, NHSF rules apply. The four other players may align in any formation the coach chooses. 3. Penalty for illegal offensive formation in C-Division is 10 yards. Defense 12

13 1. Defensive Line Players: Defenses must run a 5-man front alignment. This means there shall be 5 players on the Line of Scrimmage prior to the snap of the football. These five players may align anywhere along the line of scrimmage and be any distance apart between the boundaries. They will be considered ON the LOS if any part of their body is within 1 yard of the nose of the football. 2. Defensive Backfield Players (Linebackers, Corners, Safeties): Defensive Backfield players may align anywhere within the field of play as long as they are not closer than 3 yards from the line of scrimmage. Backfield players shall not be running forward prior to the snap of the football. 3. Penalty for illegal defensive formation in C-Division is 10 yards. Punting Punts are a "Free Kick" in C and all rules apply as described in the Punts Section above. Field Goals Field goals are worth 4 points. There is no rush and no fake field goals. PAT s PAT attempts are a Free Kick in C. No rush or fake kicks. The offense must declare if they are kicking or attempting a play. PATs count for 2 pts. Kicking PAT s or Field Goals are not counted as a play in C as they are uncontested. MUST PLAY RULE: All players must play a minimum of 14 plays per game. This is a pay for play league, it is unfair to kids who have paid not to play at least the league required minimum plays. Flagrant disregard for a must play rule WILL result in an immediate forfeiture of the game. Must play rule will also be in effect during playoff games as well as the Rocky Bowl. All teams must abide by the must play policy. It is the responsibility of the Coaching Staff to ensure that each player reaches the mandatory number of plays. Must Play Rule Application and Penalties: All teams must keep and fill out the must play sheets during the course of the game. DO NOT FILL IN BLANK BEFORE, OR AFTER THE GAME! All forms must be completed in their entirety and must be signed by the head coach and by the person (or persons) keeping track of plays. 1. All forms must be turned into the league by the head coach immediately following the game. The league will determine where the forms are to be submitted. First failure to turn in a form as requested will result in a warning. Second failure will result in a one week and one game suspension for the offending coach. 2. Additional failures will be penalized as determined by the EC and may include dismissal from the league. 13

14 3. Any play from scrimmage that has gone to completion without being stopped early by a whistle shall be counted as a play. 4. Max reduction in plays for missing a practice is (4) for one practice, (8) for two practices and only if a player misses all three practices can he be kept out the entire game. If a player is being punished for conduct, or if he/she has missed all three practices and will be held out of the entire game then the players parent MUST sign the "Must Play" sheet with an explanation why the player is being punished and receive approval from YYF EC. 5. The league may choose to appoint a specific person to maintain a team's must play sheet or monitor teams for must play infractions if it sees fit. TIMING: The offensive team has 30 seconds to snap the ball once the official has the ball marked and ready for play. Penalty (dead ball = the play does not count) 5 yards ***Week one and two referees should initially grant a warning, and prior to penalizing the offending team. After PAT's (point after touchdown) both teams have one (1) minute to get set for the kickoff. Again a 5 yard delay of game penalty will result if teams are not ready for play. Halftime: A maximum of l 0 minutes will be used for halftime. Halftime can be shortened if both head coaches agree to a time. Between the 1st and 2nd I 3rd and 4th quarters there will be a 3 minute break: Time Outs: A team shall be permitted no more than 3 one (1) minute time-outs (3) per half. Time outs will be a maximum of one (1) minute in length Injured players: Once removed by reason of injury and requiring basic first aid, a player is not allowed to re-enter the game without the approval of a certified first aid attendant or licensed physician. Teams will not be charged with time-out due to injury of a player. However if the coach enters the huddle or the teams amass on or at the sidelines, during an official time-out a time-out can be charged to the team. The referee should give a warning. Each team shall be given one (1) timeout per overtime period. These time-outs cannot be amassed; you must use it during the overtime period it was issued for. SCORING VALUES, OVERTIME & MERCY RULE: Touchdown: 6 pts Point after TD: Passing Play: 2 pts 14

15 Running Play: 1 pts PAT: 2 pts Safety: 2 pts Field Goal: 4 pts GAMES ENDING REGULATION WITH A TIE SCORE All tie ball games shall be decided by the Montana playoff rule. A coin toss will decide which teams start on offense and defense. Each team will receive first down and goal, starting from the 10-yard line. If a team scores and their opponent does not they are declared the winner. If neither team scores the process is repeated until a team scores. If there is a change of possession during a Montana Playoff, it becomes a dead ball i.e. a fumble or interception cannot be returned for points. Mercy Rule At any point during a game if one team achieves a lead of 35 points or more, score will be Frozen and the game will be recorded as a complete game. The game will continue as normal with both teams taking their achieved turns on offense and defense. Coaches will STRONGLY encouraged to play as many substitute players as possible. Minimum play requirements are still in force and must be met. 15