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Hurdling...Penalty or not!


Punttheball

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We called for hurdling a defender on Friday night.  I see highlights of kids doing this all the time.  The defender was on a knee...so not even on his feet, and our rb jumped clean over him.  We were told that the defender had to be totally prone on the ground for a legal hurdle to take place.  We have done this in the past and actually this year, and this is the first time it was called.  I think the rule was enforced wrong.

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28 minutes ago, Punttheball said:

We called for hurdling a defender on Friday night.  I see highlights of kids doing this all the time.  The defender was on a knee...so not even on his feet, and our rb jumped clean over him.  We were told that the defender had to be totally prone on the ground for a legal hurdle to take place.  We have done this in the past and actually this year, and this is the first time it was called.  I think the rule was enforced wrong.

Hurdling cannot be called if the defender is in contact with the ground with any part of his body other than one or both feet.

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It's only hurdling of the only thing touching the ground for the opponent is his feet. If his knee was on the ground it shouldn't have been hurdling. But it's a safety issue so if it was close or hard to tell the official would be correct to err on the side of safety. Hurdling is legal in NCAA and NFL so you could have seen it. Plus I see videos each year from around the country where it happens and the crew somehow misses it.

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1 hour ago, JustRules said:

It's only hurdling of the only thing touching the ground for the opponent is his feet. If his knee was on the ground it shouldn't have been hurdling. But it's a safety issue so if it was close or hard to tell the official would be correct to err on the side of safety. Hurdling is legal in NCAA and NFL so you could have seen it. Plus I see videos each year from around the country where it happens and the crew somehow misses it.

The only problem I have is that the crew told us the defender needed to be prone on the ground.  They agreed that he was on a knee.  This call cost us nothing in terms of the game outcome.  But this crew could cause someone a game. I just think it is a simple call that they totally missed and have a poor understanding of its interpretation.

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3 hours ago, Punttheball said:

The only problem I have is that the crew told us the defender needed to be prone on the ground.  They agreed that he was on a knee.  This call cost us nothing in terms of the game outcome.  But this crew could cause someone a game. I just think it is a simple call that they totally missed and have a poor understanding of its interpretation.

Agreed. It’s such a seldom called penalty that I’m sure many officials couldn’t give you the rule book definition. That’s not an excuse, just an explanation.

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3 hours ago, Punttheball said:

The only problem I have is that the crew told us the defender needed to be prone on the ground.  They agreed that he was on a knee.  This call cost us nothing in terms of the game outcome.  But this crew could cause someone a game. I just think it is a simple call that they totally missed and have a poor understanding of its interpretation.

Must still be in Softball mode, defensive player must be prone on the ground in order to jump over.

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Just to play devils advocate, I have clips of the same running back doing his hurdle with both feet of our defender on the ground getting into a tackling position and no flag was thrown and the explanation for the reason it was not thrown is not sufficient to post here it was that bad of a "reasoning" 

 

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3 hours ago, CaptainHook said:

What if the player attempting the tackle is horizontal while diving at the offensive player’s legs and nothing is touching the ground?

“Hurdling is an attempt by a player to jump (hurdle) with one or both feet or knees foremost over an opponent who is contacting the ground with no part of his body except one or both feet.”

By the letter of the rule, the opponent must be in contact with the ground for a hurdling foul.

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57 minutes ago, CaptainHook said:

So then my next question would be, at what point to you make the determination on where the defender is?  At the start of the hurdle?  Or at any point he is under the hurdler?

If you can cut it that finely at game speed, I congratulate you, and encourage you to go to IHSAA.org to learn how to become an official.🤣😂

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15 minutes ago, Bobref said:

If you can cut it that finely at game speed, I congratulate you, and encourage you to go to IHSAA.org to learn how to become an official.🤣😂

hah, actually had a football officiating license at one time, but had kids and haven't got back to it.  I plan on it someday.  Just curious.  Was having the same conversation with some IHSAA refs before youth league games yesterday.

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13 hours ago, Coach Nowlin said:

our crew missed one this past week in my opinion, was told the player dove and didn't hurdle.  however, that was the most impressive vertical dive i have ever seen :classic_biggrin:

Remember, simply jumping over someone is not enough for a foul. It has to be with knees or feet foremost. 

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I trust my judgement on this particular call of Hurdling as I have seen, spoke about it, been talked about.  It is what it is.   

I was more concerned about being down 7-6 to an offensive juggernaut last week, we pooch kick on an angle, WL kid waives for fair catch, muffs it, we recover, however LJ trots over to Referee and we see no flags on the ground, discussion ensues, next thing we know we have to rekick......  THE DREADED INADVERTENT WHISTLE.  1 guys small lil toot toot had no bearing on the play cost us a MUCH NEEDED possession.   it happens.  I bet that guys doesn't "Assume" clean fair catch again in his career.  

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37 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

I trust my judgement on this particular call of Hurdling as I have seen, spoke about it, been talked about.  It is what it is.   

I was more concerned about being down 7-6 to an offensive juggernaut last week, we pooch kick on an angle, WL kid waives for fair catch, muffs it, we recover, however LJ trots over to Referee and we see no flags on the ground, discussion ensues, next thing we know we have to rekick......  THE DREADED INADVERTENT WHISTLE.  1 guys small lil toot toot had no bearing on the play cost us a MUCH NEEDED possession.   it happens.  I bet that guys doesn't "Assume" clean fair catch again in his career.  

We've all been there. I assure you, when it's you that blows it, there's not a hole deep enough to crawl into. I know that doesn't help your cause any, but it is the truth. 

It's not unusual for us to have a  play here or there with no whistle. See leather!

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