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Mercy Rule???


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28 minutes ago, Former Coach said:

There was a running clock in the middle of the second quarter.  Varsity played two snaps in the second half: 1) punt, and 2) XPT after the JV scored.

Interesting ... since the new “Mercy Rule” cannot be implemented until the start of the 2nd half at the earliest.

Edited by Bobref
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16 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Interesting ... since the new “Mercy Rule” cannot be implemented until the start of the 2nd half at the earliest.

It's not correct procedure, but I've spoken with other officials that have said the coach on the losing side has asked to start the running clock in the first half. 

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1 hour ago, Impartial_Observer said:

Running clock ONLY in the 2nd half regardless of what the coaches agree to.  

I'm going to play devils advocate here if I may... Please read with an open mind...and understand the purpose and intent of the mercy rule (stated in the forward below).

AGAIN... I'm not trying to start an argument!!!!

Why couldn't the clock be ran in the 2nd quarter or sooner? Similar to the procedures utilized last season? If the coaches agree to it, and the rule book supports it, why couldn't it still be done? I'm not talking about envoking the mercy rule, I'm talking about a running clock. I get the new mercy rule timing doesn't come into effect till the 2nd half, but why couldn't we use rule 3-1-3 to support a running clock earlier in the contest (like last year). Below is the rule reference (3-1-3) and the language posted about the mercy rule.

Nothing in the language prohibits the ability to run the clock in the 1st half if the opposing coaches and referee agree. Remember the spirit and intent is to promote proper sportsmanship and reduce the chances of injury.

ART. 3 . . . A period or periods may be shortened in any emergency by agreement of the opposing coaches and the referee. By mutual agreement of the opposing coaches and the referee, any remaining period may be shortened at any time or the game terminated.

IHSAA Football Mercy Rule

Foreword

The Indiana High School Athletic Association in cooperation with the Indiana Football Coaches Association have created a protocol to expedite the conclusion of football contests when the point differential between schools reaches a particular threshold.  These measures are placed to promote proper sportsmanship between member schools and potentially reduce the chances of injury to student athletes when mismatches between teams occur.

Rules and Procedures

1.      Beginning with the second half of any high school football game, when the point differential between teams is at or reaches 35 points, the game clock shall convert to a running clock.  A running clock is defined as a clock that does not stop during play with the exception of timeouts, scores and/or injuries.

2.     Once the running clock is implemented, the clock may not revert back to standard timing protocols regardless of the score of the contest.

3.      The 40 second play clock shall remain in effect throughout the contest. 

Coaches do not have the ability to override the implementation of the Mercy Rule during a contest.  The Referee shall notify the head coach of each school when the Mercy Rule goes into effect.  The home team is responsible for notifying timing personnel of the running clock.

 

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The rule allowing for shortening the period allows for making the period 8 minutes or 10 minutes rather than 12 minutes. It didn't allow for alternate timing rules. There was no actual rule support for how we had running clocks previously. It was just allowed by the IHSAA to help resolve blow-out games quicker. When they came up with the Mercy Rule they said no more "unofficial" running clocks like we had previously. It's my understanding that's what Robert's clarification from last week was (our football chair never forwarded it to us so I haven't seen it). The new Mercy Rule is very specific with what we can do and when. Running the clock in the 2nd quarter is not allowed. Is it the worst thing in the world to do? Absolutely not? Would I fault a crew and coaches for agreeing to do it? No. But they aren't supposed to do it.

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27 minutes ago, JustRules said:

The rule allowing for shortening the period allows for making the period 8 minutes or 10 minutes rather than 12 minutes. It didn't allow for alternate timing rules. There was no actual rule support for how we had running clocks previously. It was just allowed by the IHSAA to help resolve blow-out games quicker. When they came up with the Mercy Rule they said no more "unofficial" running clocks like we had previously. It's my understanding that's what Robert's clarification from last week was (our football chair never forwarded it to us so I haven't seen it). The new Mercy Rule is very specific with what we can do and when. Running the clock in the 2nd quarter is not allowed. Is it the worst thing in the world to do? Absolutely not? Would I fault a crew and coaches for agreeing to do it? No. But they aren't supposed to do it.

This morning I received an official interpretation from the IHSAA. Indiana’s Mercy Rule does not permit any other form of alternate timing, regardless of whether both teams agree. No more running clocks in the first half.

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Clarification:  I saw a game Friday night where one team had 34 points in the 3rd quarter.  They scored a TD later in the 3rd period to give them 40-0 lead.  With clock running when they scored their 40th point the clock never stopped and continued to run during the X-point.  Is this correct?

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6 minutes ago, johnny U said:

Clarification:  I saw a game Friday night where one team had 34 points in the 3rd quarter.  They scored a TD later in the 3rd period to give them 40-0 lead.  With clock running when they scored their 40th point the clock never stopped and continued to run during the X-point.  Is this correct?

Yes. On a TD, the game clock stops after the completion of the try.

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I have seen on several threads a reference to a rule interpretation or clarification was basically being handed down by word of mouth. IHSAA to chair(?) to local official to chain gang to ballboy to game official. And nearly every time an official responds with “no one told me”.

Doesn’t seem professional on the part of IHSAA. A systemic problem. That’s just from the outside looking in. Doesn’t the IHSAA have a data base of all authorized officials? Seems like it would be better to go directly from IHSAA to the official on the field. In order to have uniformity of rule application.

Am I missing something?

 

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10 minutes ago, SenatorFan said:

I have seen on several threads a reference to a rule interpretation or clarification was basically being handed down by word of mouth. IHSAA to chair(?) to local official to chain gang to ballboy to game official. And nearly every time an official responds with “no one told me”.

Doesn’t seem professional on the part of IHSAA. A systemic problem. That’s just from the outside looking in. Doesn’t the IHSAA have a data base of all authorized officials? Seems like it would be better to go directly from IHSAA to the official on the field. In order to have uniformity of rule application.

Am I missing something?

 

Nope. You got it. There are some direct communications (certification clinics, online rules interpretations, playoff application reminders, online training), but things like clarifications and weekly updates if they send them always go through the association chairs. They ask for communications and feedback to come back that way as well. There are also instances where someone asks Robert for a rule interpretation or clarification and he only replies back to that crew. You only hear about it through word of mouth. One example I heard last week was in regards to bandanas hanging out of the back of a helmet. This is very clearly not allowed in NFHS and NCAA, but when Robert was asked about it he apparently told this person it was legal. He's wrong but when he's the boss he's right. But not everyone got that response.

Being on top of those things is hard when it's your full time responsibility. But officials are a very small part of his responsibilities. I will say he at least makes an effort. It would be nice to have an assistant commissioner for officials, but I don't see it happening any time soon.

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51 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Yes. On a TD, the game clock stops after the completion of the try.

We had the same situation Friday night. I know once the Mercy Rule went into effect the clock doesn't stop until after the try. I just wasn't sure if the TD itself creates the 35+ point differential if that clock should keep running through the try. Or if it would start on the succeeding kickoff. In our case the game clock operator kept it running and nobody said anything.

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The biggest issue I see with sending info via the sports chairs is the fact there are crews out there working who don't work the tournament and don't attend meetings or are even members of an association. 

We were also relayed another email where crews made some really bonehead decisions on their own and didn't allow kids to play in games for various correctable issues. I would venture to crews making such decisions aren't the crews who are members of associations and attending the meetings. 

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Local football coaches favor new IHSAA mercy rule: https://www.jconline.com/story/sports/2019/09/16/local-football-coaches-favor-new-ihsaa-mercy-rule/2338388001/

Quote

Central Catholic was outmatched Friday night against its Hoosier Conference and Tippecanoe County rival West Lafayette.

That was evident even before freshman left guard Brady Miller suffered a broken arm, burying the Knights in an even deeper insurmountable hole.

With the Red Devils ahead 50-0 at halftime, it triggered the automatic running clock for the entire second half and it was apparent Central Catholic needed to speed up the second half and hope to get off the field without any further damage.

This is the first season the Indiana High School Athletic Association has instituted a mandatory mercy rule, where the clock automatically runs if the a second-half deficit reaches 35 points.

"I think it's a good thing for us," said CC coach Brian Nay, who relies on playing several players on both sides of the ball and on special teams. "A 6A team with 50 seniors might not think so. Knowing every single one of our players is going to play in the varsity or JV game, it is a good rule for us."

Nay says this having benefited from the same rule a week earlier in a win at Northwestern. That night, all five Tippecanoe County teams played in a game that saw the running clock.

Like Central Catholic, McCutcheon has been on both sides of the running clock the last two weeks, falling to Jeff on Sept. 6 and beating Kokomo 59-20 on Friday. 

In either case, Mavericks coach Ken Frauhiger was in favor of the clock moving.

"That's the way it should be," he said. "It happens so fast and you can't really come back from (down 35 points)."

Friday's win by West Lafayette was its second in a row where the running clock was instituted. It likely will not be the last time the Red Devils own a 35-point lead in the second half this season.

In recent years, a running clock could be agreed upon by both coaches, but there wasn't any guidelines for officials to monitor it. 

.....

 

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1 hour ago, slice60 said:

In week 1, Michigan City was up 41-0 on Griffith after 1Q. Griffith coaches asked for a running clock to start the 2nd Qtr. MC agreed reluctantly. Final score 60-7.

That may have been the game that triggered an email from the IHSAA to officials to NOT allow a running clock unless it meets the state's mercy rule. The quarter may be shortened (i.e. 12 minutes to 8 minutes) by no running clock in the first half.

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17 minutes ago, JustRules said:

That may have been the game that triggered an email from the IHSAA to officials to NOT allow a running clock unless it meets the state's mercy rule. The quarter may be shortened (i.e. 12 minutes to 8 minutes) by no running clock in the first half.

I'm the white hat and crew chief on my crew and still have yet to receive the above mentioned email via the IHSAA or football chair of the two associations of which I belong. 

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