Football Rules



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	The DPL uses the following as specific modifications for its football leagues. Otherwise, please refer to the NCAA rules as modified by the UIL for interpretations. All decisions on rules questions will be made final by the DPL Athletic Director. Printable copy of 2008 Football Rules



	Prayer:		Teams will meet at midfield for a pre-game prayer to be led by the home team.



	Eligibility:		A player must be enrolled as a full-time student at a DPL member school. A player from a school, which does not have a football program at that age level, may participate for another DPL member school. All teams must indicate the school attended by each player on its’ official league roster.






	Practice:		Teams may practice in an organized manner as follows: 1) Strength & Conditioning: Any time 2) Contact Drills & Scrimmages: May begin no earlier than August 4th 3) Violators: $500 fine & head coach banned from season.* Football practices are limited to non-contact only until August 4th. As of August 4th up until the first day of school, teams are to be limited to 3 days of contact drills, but are unrestricted on total number of days per week that they can meet. As of the first day of school, teams are limited to four (4) meeting days per week, of which, no more than three (3) days can be contact workouts. Should the fourth day be utilized, it must be non-contact in nature and may include a film session. The "week" is defined as Monday through Sunday. The DPL does not limit the length of practices, but schools may at their own discretion. "Contact" is to be defined as player hitting player. The use of sleds or dummies is not considered "contact" for purposes of this rule, and may therefore; be incorporated into the 4th workout. A film session is considered a team meeting, and therefore, it does count as a meeting day. However, there is no restriction that would prohibit a combination workout followed / or preceded by film session. The team's game(s) are not considered a meeting day.




























	Officials:		The DPL will provide 3 person crews of officials for each game. Should the athletic director’s agree, by majority, to increase this number for play-off games, the league will expand accordingly.

Chain Crew

The designated home team will provide two volunteers and the visiting team will provide one volunteer for this duty. Chain gang members are strictly prohibited from engaging in any coaching during the game.

Equipment:

Helmet, shoulder pads, thigh pads, hip pads, tail-bone pads, knee pads, approved cleats and a mouthpiece are mandatory for all players. Also, a four-point chinstrap must be worn on each helmet.
The home team will wear a dark colored jersey and the visiting team will wear a light colored jersey. Athletic Directors and Coaches should make sure to consult with the opposition prior to that weekend’s games should teams have similar school colors to prevent confusion at game time. Should two teams arrive at a game with like or similar jersey colors, the offending team will be required to wear cover-ups.

Game Ball:

Both teams are responsible for supplying their Wilson game balls to be used on offense.

Varsity:	TDY
JV:	TDY or TDJ

Ball used must remain consistent throughout the drive including PAT’s, Punts, & FG’s.

Game Clock:

All teams (Varsity & JV) will play 4 x 10 minute quarters. Half time is 15 minutes.

Time-Outs:

Each team is allotted 3 per half.

Scoring:

Touchdown = 6 pts.
FG = 3 pts.
X-pt kicked, Safety, returned X-pt =2 pts.
X-pt. Pass / run = 1 pt.

Coaches:

All teams are limited to a maximum of seven coaches per team. These coaches must remain between the 25 yard lines. Also, these coaches should be dressed in a uniform manner which identifies them as coaches.

Weight Restrictions

Varsity: (5-8 grade) Players weighing greater than 140.1 lbs or above will wear an “X” on the back of their helmet & play on the line of scrimmage.

Junior Varsity – 6th grade Players weighing greater than 115.1 lbs or above will wear an “X” on the back of their helmet & play on the line of scrimmage.

Junior Varsity – 5th grade Players weighing greater than 110.1 lbs or above will wear an “X” on the back of their helmet & play on the line of scrimmage.

X-Man Restrictions:
The designated X-Men on offense must be positioned as down linemen. This may include the center, guards, tackles, & blocking tight ends. The term “down lineman” here is sufficient. This allows for a pass blocking technique to be used where the lineman never goes to a 3-point stance, but rather has his elbows resting on his knees.

An eligible receiver must cover all offensive X-Men on the O-Line. An “X” man can be in the “tight end” position, occupying the 3rd spot from the snapper and adjacent to the 2nd position from the snapper. He still must have another player anywhere on the line between him and the sideline.

The designated X-Men on defense must be positioned as down linemen with at least one hand touching the ground at the snap. This may include nose-guard, tackles, or ends.
Defensive Ends may be positioned no wider than “hand-shake” distance of the outer-most offensive down-lineman.

Penalties for X-Man violations:
*“X” player violations off the line of scrimmage will result in a dead ball foul with a five (5) yard penalty against the team who violates the rule. *“X” player violations which involve incorrect labeling of helmets or incorrect “X” players as per the team’s official roster will result in a $250 fine, possible suspension of the head coach (to be the Diocesan Athletic Director’s discretion), and forfeiture of the game if applicable.

Jerseys:

(1) All X-Men MUST wear a jersey number in the 50-79 range.
(2) All non X-Men who consistently play the line MUST wear a jersey number in the 50-79 range.
(3) All players who consistently play skill positions MUST wear jersey numbers outside the 50-79 range.

* Teams must report to officials when a category 2 player will be an eligible receiver.

** Should injuries require the move of a category 2 player to a skill position for the following week(s) games, the team may make jersey adjustments as necessary within the limits prescribed above.

A revised roster must be sent at least one full business day prior to the team’s next game. Jersey changes are not permitted within any given game.

Rosters

Each team must produce a roster at the official Weigh-In. The players’ weights will then be documented. If a team has yet to assign game jersey numbers to each player, then it will have until September 8 to assign these and fax the final roster to the league office. All rosters will be considered complete when they have the following:

     1. School Name & Division
     2. Player’s Name, Grade Level, Jersey #, Weight, School Attended
     3. Principal’s Signature
     4. A.D.’s Signature

Copies of each team’s roster will be kept on file at the league office. Coaches may request, via e-mail, and opponent’s roster prior to any game. The requested roster will be faxed within 24 hours.

Overtime:

Coin toss will determine possession.
The ball will be placed on the 10-yard line, anywhere between the hash marks.
Each team will have four downs to score a TD or kick a FG.
If a FG is attempted and missed before fourth down, the team forfeits the remaining downs.
If the defense returns an interception, fumble, or blocked FG for a TD, they are declared the winner.
The defense can also return the extra point attempt for 2 points and still have an offensive opportunity.
If tied after one overtime, the process will be reversed for the second overtime.
There will be a new coin flip before each odd numbered overtime session.
There will be no time-outs allowed in the overtime periods.

Season

1. Head to head competition
2. Divisional Record
3. Better record in common games
4. Coin Flip

Tie-Breakers: