The
Intramural Sports Program
Flag Football
All Intramural participants are responsible for their
own medical expenses. Any participant unsure of his/her physical condition
should check with their physician or the University Clinic before participating
in an Intramural Sports contest.
Teams are responsible for keeping their spectators
under control. Misconduct of participants, coaches or spectators can result in
an unsportsmanlike penalty, ejection or forfeiture of the game. Team Captains
will be held responsible for spectator, team and sideline misconduct. Two ejections from any contest will result in
an automatic forfeiture.
Intramural
Officials are in absolute control of the game. Officials and Supervisors
shall have the power to make decisions on all matters and questions not
specifically covered in the rules.
1.
Eligibility and Roster Information
A current Southern Miss I.D. must be presented to the
supervisor at game time. NO I.D. - NO PLAY- NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!
Teams must have a minimum of 5 players to start a game. 7 players shall play in the field.
2.
Equipment
Participants cannot wear any jewelry during the game. The only
exception is properly-secured medical alert jewelry.
Each player on the field
must wear a one piece flag belt (provided by Recreational Sports) at the
waistline with three flags permanently attached, one flag on each side and one
in the center of the back. The flag belt
must be free of any knots.
Every Participant
must wear proper athletic attire, including athletic footwear—no open-toed
shoes may be worn and players cannot play barefoot. Rubber cleats may be worn, but cleats with metal spikes will not be
allowed.
Shoes must be
soft-soled soccer/football type cleats or cross-country, tennis, or Astroturf
shoes. NO HARD PLASTIC, LEATHER, OR METAL IS ALLOWED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
CLEATS OR SHOES. WET TURF SOCCER SHOES
(SCREW-IN CLEATS) ARE NOT ALLOWED.
Molded one-piece screw-ins with a cleat length of ½" or less are
permitted
The
use of headgear, shoulder pads, body pads, or any unyielding or dangerous
equipment is prohibited. Players may
wear a knit or stocking cap and use soft, pliable gloves if they desire. No baseball caps, metal or bandanas with knot
may be worn.
Tape or bandage
on the hand, wrist, forearm, or any part of the body is prohibited except to
protect an injury. Under no
circumstances will a player wearing a cast or splint be allowed to play. Braces with exposed metal parts must be
covered.
All players must
wear jerseys (shirts), long enough so that they remain tucked in during each down
or cut at least 4” above the flag belt.
Each team must wear the same color jersey. If not, jerseys will be provided. The jersey must be tucked in to allow for
grabbing of the flag. Players of
opposing teams must wear contrasting jerseys, without pockets, and with numbers
either on the front or back.
Players must wear proper athletic attire. Belt loops, pockets, exposed drawstrings, or
untucked hoods on sweat tops are illegal.
Players wearing such illegal equipment will not be allowed to
participate until illegal equipment is removed.
3.
Length of Game and Timing
A game will consist
of two halves of 20 minutes. The clock
will run continuously for the first half and first 18 minutes of the second half,
except when a timeout is called, or at the referee’s discretion. During the last 2 minutes the clock will stop
for an incomplete pass, running out of bounds, called timeouts and at the 2
minute warning.
The clock shall
run continuously, except if there is a serious injury or a
protest/clarification question requiring a Supervisor or other Intramural
Staff.
Half-time will be
5 minutes. The referee shall have
discretion to reduce the length of the half-time if conditions deem it
necessary.
Overtime will NOT be played during the regular season
Mercy Rule
If a team is 19
or more points ahead when the referee announces the 2 minute warning for the second
half or anytime thereafter, the game shall be over.
Each team will be
permitted 2 time-outs per half. These
time-outs shall be 1 minute in length and first half time-outs do not carry
over to the second half.
The referee may
start or stop the game clock whenever, in his/her judgment, either team is
trying to conserve or consume playing time by using illegal or unfair tactics.
4.
Pre-game, Starting the Game and Punts
The toss and
options
Three minutes
prior to the start of the game, the referee shall toss a coin, and the visiting
team captain shall call the toss. The
captain winning the toss shall have choice of options for the first half or
shall defer their option to the second half.
The options of each half shall be
4.1.1.1 To choose
whether his/her team will start on offense or defense.
4.1.1.2 To choose
the goal his/her team will defend.
4.1.1.3 The captain not having the
first choice of options for a half shall exercise the remaining option.
The start of each
half will begin by placing the ball on the 14 yard line. There are no kickoffs, including after a
safety.
Punts
Prior to a punt
the offensive team must make the referee aware of the intentions. After such announcement, the ball must be
kicked. Exceptions: If a) Team A or Team
B call a time-out, or b) a foul occurs anytime prior to or during this down
after Team A captain’s decision which results in the kicking team having the
right to repeat the down again, the referee must ask the Team A captain whether
or not he/she wants a punt and communicate this decision to the Team B captain.
Kicking the Ball: After receiving the snap, the
kicker must kick the ball immediately and in a continuous motion (snap, catch,
kick). If a kicker drops the ball, it is
considered a fumble, and the ball becomes dead at the spot. Penalty:
Dead Ball Foul- Delay of Game (5 yards).
Neither kicking
nor receiving team may advance beyond their respective scrimmage line until the
ball is kicked. Note: All scrimmage line rules regarding the snap,
stance, false start, minimum line players, motion an shift apply to punt
situations
Teams may punt
the ball only once per down.
Teams may only
advance a punt if a team blocks the punt and catches it behind the line of
scrimmage.
5.
Snapping and passing the Ball
Snapping the ball
The player who
receives the snap from the center must be at least 2 yards behind his/her
scrimmage line. The snapper shall pass
the ball back from its position on the ground with a quick and continuous
motion of the hand(s).
The offensive
team must have a minimum of 4 (5 for co-rec) players
on the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap. A player in motion is not counted as one of
the 4 or 5 on the scrimmage line.
If on the snap,
punt or any other circumstances the ball is fumbled, it is immediately dead
upon hitting the ground. No advancement
can be made by either team. A fumble
going out of bounds without hitting the ground remains in possession of the
fumbling team at the spot where the ball was fumbled or wherever the ball went
out of bounds.
Passing the ball
All players are
eligible to touch a forward pass after it is thrown. The passer may catch his/her own forward pass
provided it has been touched by another player first.
If a legal
forward pass is caught simultaneously by members of opposing teams, the ball
immediately becomes dead upon returning to the ground and belongs to the
offense.
A forward pass is
a live ball thrown towards the opponent’s goal line. A backward pass is a live ball thrown
parallel or backwards. The initial
direction of the pass will determine whether or not the ball is backwards or
forwards.
It is illegal to
attempt to strip the ball while in player possession by punching, striking or
stealing. Once a player has obtained
possession of the ball, his/her opponent must play the flag, not the ball.
Defensive players
must not contact the passer at anytime during or after the play. They may only go for the flag. Rushers may try to deflect the ball, but they
may not contact the passer even if the ball is deflected. If the defender contacts the passer, it is
considered roughing the passer. This
includes the arm of the quarterback before, during or immediately following a
pass.
Only one foot
must touch inbounds in order for a pass reception to be considered legal.
6.
Screening, Rushing, and Contact
Screen blocking is legally obstructing an opponent
without using any part of the body to initiate contact with him/her.
The offensive screen block shall take place without
contact. The screen blocker shall have
his/her hands and arms at his/her side or behind his/her back. Any use of the hands, arms, elbows, legs, or
body to initiate contact during an offensive player’s screen block is
illegal. A blocker may use his/her hands
or arms to break a fall or to retain his/her balance.
Defensive players must go around the offensive player’s
screen block. The arms and hands may not
be used as a wedge to contact the opponent.
The application of this rule depends entirely on the judgment of the
official. A rusher may use his/her hands
or arms to break a fall or retain his/her balance. These actions are judged similarly to the
block/charge call in basketball.
Players are responsible for retrieving eh ball after a
down has ended. Officials are not
responsible for retrieving the ball. The
offensive team may take the ball to the huddle after each play.
No player may use words similar to the offensive and
quarterback cadence prior to the snap in an attempt to interfere with Team A’s
signals or movements.
7.
Co-Rec Clarifications
The game shall be played between 2 teams of 8 players,
4 men and 4 women. A team must have at
least 6 players (3 men and 3 women) to start and continue a game.
The regular, intermediate, junior or youth size
football shall be used.
The offensive team must have at least 5 players on
their scrimmage line at the snap.
A Team A male runner cannot advance the ball beyond
Team A’s scrimmage line. There are no
restrictions concerning: runs by a
female runner; during a run by a male runner once the ball is beyond the Team A
scrimmage line; and after a change of possession.
The term
“close” means a male player may NOT throw a legal forward pass completion
to any other male player. The term “open” means any player can complete a
legal forward pass to any other player.
During the offensive team’s possession their may not
be 2 consecutive legal forward pass completions from a male passer to a male
receiver. This rule applies to the try.
If a male passer completes a legal forward pass to a
male receiver, the next legal forward pass completion must involve either a
female passer or female receiver for positive yards. The spot where the ball becomes dead by Rule
must be beyond the Team A scrimmage line.
There is NO foul for a female receiver being tagged or de-flagged behind
the Team A scrimmage line. The next
legal forward pass completion remains “closed.”
There are no other restrictions concerning a male
passer completing legal forward passes to a female receiver, or female to
female, or female to male.
Any foul, whether accepted or declined, shall have no
effect on whether the next forward pass completion is “open” or “closed.” If a crew of officials erroneously indicates
“open/closed” status of a down, then Team A has the option to repeat the down
or take the result of the play. This
must be done prior to the next snap.
Mercy
Rule: If a team is 25 or more points ahead when the referee announces the 2
minute warning for the second half or anytime there after, the game shall be
over.
Touchdown
Value: If a female scores a touchdown, the point value is
9. If a female player throws a legal
forward pass and a touchdown is scored by any Team A player, the point value is
9. All other touchdowns will be 6 points.
8.
Forfeit Policy
If a team fails
to appear with the required minimum number of players, ready to play, at the
scheduled location at the scheduled start of the game, a member of the
Intramural Sports Staff will declare the contest a forfeit. Teams that forfeit will receive an ‘F’ for
sportsmanship and will be required to pay $15 to the Recreational Sports Office
prior to the registration of any other intramural sports teams.
Teams are only
allowed one forfeit per sport per season.
If a team forfeits twice, it will be removed from the league for the
remainder of the season.
9.
Default Policy
If a team knows
that they will be unable to play a scheduled game, the Team Captain must
contact the Intramural Sports Office by 12:00 PM the day of the contest to
declare a default. The defaulting team
will receive a loss and a ‘B’ for sportsmanship. There is no re-entry fee for a default.
Recreational Sports Website:
http://www.usm.edu/recsports
Intramural Sports Office: 601.266.5409
Revised 10/1/07