FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[purpled]

As I am not up to par on many of the rules of football, especially high school, I have a question for the lot...I saw a video of a high school football game in Florida...team A punts to team B...B calls for a fair catch then gets a free kick which Team A must stay 10 yards away and B kicks a 3 pointer for the win. Does this rule exist in all of football or at certain levels or states. I apologize for my ignorance on this most important football matter.

[ExTartanPlayer]

As I am not up to par on many of the rules of football, especially high school, I have a question for the lot...I saw a video of a high school football game in Florida...team A punts to team B...B calls for a fair catch then gets a free kick which Team A must stay 10 yards away and B kicks a 3 pointer for the win. Does this rule exist in all of football or at certain levels or states. I apologize for my ignorance on this most important football matter.

I know it exists in the NFL (somebody, perhaps the Cardinals, tried it on the last play of the 1st half of a game last year & had their kicker try a 70-ish yard field goal rather than try a Hail Mary).

I think it exists in college, as well.  I've never seen it in high school, but given the above, I wouldn't be surprised.

What is surprising is that they had a kicker good enough to hit that long of a FG.  Team A's punter must not have gotten very much on the ball, or perhaps he was punting from the shadow of his own goalposts.

[purpled]

I believe the kick was in the 35-40 yard range. Thanks for you input.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

As I am not up to par on many of the rules of football, especially high school, I have a question for the lot...I saw a video of a high school football game in Florida...team A punts to team B...B calls for a fair catch then gets a free kick which Team A must stay 10 yards away and B kicks a 3 pointer for the win. Does this rule exist in all of football or at certain levels or states. I apologize for my ignorance on this most important football matter.

I know it exists in the NFL (somebody, perhaps the Cardinals, tried it on the last play of the 1st half of a game last year & had their kicker try a 70-ish yard field goal rather than try a Hail Mary).

I think it exists in college, as well.  I've never seen it in high school, but given the above, I wouldn't be surprised.

What is surprising is that they had a kicker good enough to hit that long of a FG.  Team A's punter must not have gotten very much on the ball, or perhaps he was punting from the shadow of his own goalposts.

Why must team A stay 10 yards away?

[ExTartanPlayer]

As I am not up to par on many of the rules of football, especially high school, I have a question for the lot...I saw a video of a high school football game in Florida...team A punts to team B...B calls for a fair catch then gets a free kick which Team A must stay 10 yards away and B kicks a 3 pointer for the win. Does this rule exist in all of football or at certain levels or states. I apologize for my ignorance on this most important football matter.

I know it exists in the NFL (somebody, perhaps the Cardinals, tried it on the last play of the 1st half of a game last year & had their kicker try a 70-ish yard field goal rather than try a Hail Mary).

I think it exists in college, as well.  I've never seen it in high school, but given the above, I wouldn't be surprised.

What is surprising is that they had a kicker good enough to hit that long of a FG.  Team A's punter must not have gotten very much on the ball, or perhaps he was punting from the shadow of his own goalposts.

Why must team A stay 10 yards away?

The "free kick" play is treated essentially like a hybrid of a kickoff and a field goal.  It starts like a kickoff, with the bonus being that putting the ball through the uprights counts as a FG.  If you're about to receive a punt with <30 seconds left in the first half, and you have a good kicker, it does make a lot of sense to tell the punt returner to fair-catch the ball.

The advantage to kicking immediately after the fair catch is a) no rush and b) you get to kick from the exact spot, rather than snapping the ball ~7 yards backwards.  If your punt returner fair-catches a ball at midfield with 20 seconds on the clock, you can have your kicker go from there (with the added benefit of a kicking tee) or take your chances on gaining the extra 10 yards that you'll need to make the FG kick any easier.


Of course, most NFL teams are efficient enough in two-minute situations that they might as well run a play or two, hoping to gain 10-15 yards.

[Kehresma]

Anyone heard about the injury status of J. Collins and J. Murray?

Jeremy has been practicing all week.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I'll be damned:  The Fair Catch Free Kick Rule

Learn something new every day...

[Raider 68]

Anyone heard about the injury status of J. Collins and J. Murray?

Jeremy has been practicing all week.

Kehresma,

Thanks for the information, +k !

[reality check]

Read about a team that did this in a high school game a year or two back on one of the Yahoo sports blogs.  In this case, the game wasn't decided.  It was to end a first half but I believe it was from 60+ yards away.  It's much easier to kick a ball through the uprights off a tee so it's a smart play to be aware of.  After reading it, I told me head coach and it's something in our back pocket for every game.  I wouldn't have known it existed if it weren't for the blog a couple years back.

[BoBo]

I'll be damned:  The Fair Catch Free Kick Rule

Learn something new every day...

At one time Dad, the free kicks weren't place kicks, but drop kicks.  Possibly the greatest drop kicker was THIS guy.  He's in the College Football Hall of Fame.

[Raider 68]

I'll be damned:  The Fair Catch Free Kick Rule

Learn something new every day...

At one time Dad, the free kicks weren't place kicks, but drop kicks.  Possibly the greatest drop kicker was THIS guy.  He's in the College Football Hall of Fame.

BoBo,

George Blanda was a pretty good kicker as well, you remember him!

[mr_mom]

I'll be damned:  The Fair Catch Free Kick Rule

Learn something new every day...

I keep channeling "The Longest Yard".   The original ... not the crappy Adam Sandler remake.  And Flutie's Drop Kick!  Classic!

[reality check]

I've been known to drop kick a ball or two through the uprights at the end of practice.  It's funny mostly because the kids think you screwed up when the ball hits the ground.  It's definitely an art to be able to do it right...

[bleedpurple]

I'll be damned:  The Fair Catch Free Kick Rule

Learn something new every day...

At one time Dad, the free kicks weren't place kicks, but drop kicks.  Possibly the greatest drop kicker was THIS guy.  He's in the College Football Hall of Fame.

BoBo,

George Blanda was a pretty kicker as well, you remember him!

You might be the first person in the history of the world to describe George Blanda as pretty... 

[mr_mom]

BoBo,
George Blanda was a pretty kicker as well, you remember him!

You might be the first person in the history of the world to describe George Blanda as pretty... 

Only when he went out drinking with Jim Plunkett