club sport MEN'S FLAG FOOTBALL RULES

Updated as of 06/07.

Anyone hanging, dunking, slapping, etc of the goal posts will be punished at the discretion of the League Coordinator.

1. THIS IS NON-CONTACT FOOTBALL !!! At the ref's discretion, persons who continually initiate contact will be ejected from the game and, if this action persists, will be permanently banned from league play.

2. PLAYER AND FAN CONDUCT:

·          No foul language, taunting, or abuse of the referees or players will be tolerated. This goes for both players and spectators. Players violating this policy will be called for unsportsmanlike behavior and subject to ejection. If spectators violate this policy, a warning will be issued to their team. If it continues, a forfeit may be awarded. Any player or fan is encouraged to root for their own team but rooting against teams or use of disparaging language is not allowed and could result in penalties of players or dismissals of fans. Any fans of teams may be asked to leave by Club Sport staff. Refusal to leave could result in forfeiture of games.

3. FIELDING PLAYERS: Each team shall have on the field at one time:

·          A maximum of seven players, a minimum of five players.

·          You must play with at least 4 players from your own roster.

4. SUBSTITUTION: During a regular season game, if your team is short, you may pick up other players for that game.

·         The player you pick must be on a Club Sport roster for another team in that sport for that particular night.

·         Teams may pickup up to one player at no penalty. Any pickups in addition to this or any over the minimum team number will result in a 2 point penalty per player. If more players from your team show up to allow subs, the free pickup player must be removed.

·          You must play the players from your own team. At NO time may you have any of your own men sitting on the bench while men you have picked up are playing.

·         During the tournament, NO pickup players will be allowed. If your team is short the minimum number of players for the tourney game, the game is forfeited but still may be played for fun.

5. START OF GAME:

·          Game time is forfeit time. The referee calls game time. Forfeits are scored as 2-0.

·          Possession of the ball is determined by coin flip. The team that wins the toss may choose one of these two options: 1) to receive or 2) to defer their choice to the second half. The team that does not have their choice in the first half will have it in the second half.

6. KICKS:

·         The 1st & 2nd half will start with a kickoff. There will be no other kickoffs during the halves.

·         Kickoffs will be from the 20 yard line. No onside kicks are allowed.

·         Touchbacks of kickoffs will be marked at the 20 yard line.

·         If the kickoff goes out of bounds, the ball is spotted 25 yds from line of scrimmage or where the ball left the field of play (whichever the receiving team's captain chooses).

·        On punts, the offense must have four players on the line of scrimmage. The offense must notify the official of a punt. Upon the snap, the kicking team has 10 seconds to punt the ball.  No fake punting permitted.  Once the referee notifies the defense of their choice, a time out must be taken by the offense to change their choice of punting or going for it.

·         The punting team must give the player fielding the punt a 3 foot halo.

7. LENGTH OF GAME:

·          Game is divided into two 20 minute halves with a five minute half-time.

·          If for any reason the game is cancelled with more than half the game played, the score and game will be considered final.

·          The clock runs throughout the first 18 minutes of each half, stopping for time-outs, injury, question for the ref or referee conferences.  

·          During last two minutes of each half, clock will stop for:

·          Time outs

·          Incomplete passes

·          A player goes out of bounds

·          A team scores (clock stops until the snap of the successive drive)

·          First downs (clock starts when ball markers are placed)

·          Penalties (Use of penalties to stop clock in lieu of a timeout will result in clock starting upon the ball being spotted, at ref's discretion.)

8. REGULAR GAME PLAY:

·          All balls must be NCAA or NFL official size and weight and properly inflated.

·          The offense must have a minimum of 4 players on the line of scrimmage.

·          Each team has four downs to score or earn another first down by crossing the next possible first down marker.

·          If someone’s flag falls off during play and it is not due to the opposing team pulling it, play CONTINUES. If this person is the ball carrier, he/she may be downed by a one-hand touch anywhere between the knees and shoulders. (This rule applies the same for hats, bandanas, towel, or playbook.) The ball will be marked at the waist. Intentionally pulling a flag off a player before they have the ball is considered unsportsmanlike conduct. Tying flags to prevent a pull is considered unsportsmanlike conduct.

·          If a ballcarrier touches the ground with anything except their feet or the hand that is not in possesion of the ball, the player is down at that spot. The ball is marked at waist.

·         Defensive players will line up at least 3 yards from the line of scrimmage. This area will define the "neutral zone".  (Exceptions are when the offense is within 3 yards of the end zone or 1^st down line. In these cases the defense can line up on the goal line or the 1^st down line, whichever is applicable).

·          Anyone can rush the quarterback, but defensive teams may not enter the neutral zone until the ball is snapped.

·          All players (rushers and receivers) must proceed through the neutral zone perpendicular to the line of scrimmage (straight in or straight out).  Only after leaving the neutral zone may a player make a cut or change the direction of their rush or route. 

·          Fumbles and muffed balls are considered dead.

·          A catch must be completed with the first foot in bounds.

·          If the offense chooses to huddle, then ALL offensive players must be within 8 yards of the huddle. No sleeper plays will be permitted.  

·          A legal snap can be received either from under center, or from a shotgun formation.  In shotgun formation, the snap must be at least 2 yards from center to the player receiving the snap. Snap may be a sideways pass in shotgun formation only.

·       Only the player who signals (verbally or non-verbally) for the snap (calls "hike", "go", etc. or motions for the ball) may receive the snap.

·          Diving is not allowed to gain yardage. A player may, however,  jump or spin to avoid having a flag pulled or dive to pull a flag. Any player deemed to be out of control and initiating contact will be penalized accordingly.  

·          Multiple forward passes are allowed behind the line of scrimmage. However, only one forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage is allowed per play.

·          Intentional Grounding will be called when a passer facing an imminent loss of yardage throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion.  This will result in a loss of down, as well as the ball being spotted at the QB's point of release.  Within the last two minutes, however, a QB may spike the ball to stop the clock.

·          Yelling or shouting in an attempt to disrupt the play will result in an unsportsmanlike penalty.