ILLEGAL HELMET CONTACT

The National Federation has no foul or terms that is labeled “launching” or “targeting”. These are Saturday & Sunday terms that have trickled down to high school, both on the officiating side as well as the coaching side.

You need to remember that fact when announcing over a field mike or when talking to coaches. Use National Federation Terms

We are all aware that there is a great deal of inadvertent helmet contact in the game of football that is not considered illegal. Close interior line play quickly comes to my mind.

From a philosophical standpoint it is wise to error on the side of safety especially when questionable helmet contact is initiated on “defenseless” players, such as receivers and passers. Illegal helmet contact calls may be more of a challenge when a hard charging running back collides with an immovable linebacker.

WHEN IN DOUBT IT IS ILLEGAL HELMET CONTACT

What the NFHS rule does talk about is “illegal helmet contact.” When defining illegal helmet contact the rule talks about “initiating” contact with the helmet against an opponent. There are, by rule, three illegal acts that all involve initiating contact with the helmet. They are “face tackling,” “butt blocking,” and “spearing.” The term “illegal helmet contact” will probably be better accepted over the field mike than will “butt blocking.”

RULE 9-4-3iILLEGAL PERSONAL CONTACT

No player shall initiate illegal helmet contact by:a. butt blockb. face tacklec. spear

Illegal helmet contact may be considered a flagrant act. Acts considered flagrant include, but are not limited to:

a. Illegal helmet contact against an opponent lying on the groundb. Illegal helmet contact against an opponent being held up by other playersc. Illegal helmet-to-helmet contact against a defenseless opponent

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