You Make The Call 10/27

[bamajake]

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Red's ball 1st and 10 from the 50. Red has 11 players in its huddle. Red #88 (a substitute) runs onto the field and into the huddle. One or two seconds after he gets to the huddle, the huddle breaks and Red #16 runs to the sideline and off of the field as the rest of the team heads toward the line. Where will Red snap the ball from and what will the distance be for a first down?

[VolFan1]

There is no breaking the huddle with 12 rule in high school. 1 or 2 seconds, I probably wouldn't call anything.

I think the answer you want is 1st and 15 from the red 45. It is a substitution infraction and 5 yard penalty. If the play got started with 12 on the field you would have illegal participation and 15 yards.

[LABUB]

I agree. 1st & 15 from the Red 45 yard line dead ball substitution infraction.

[bamajake]

VolFan, you hit on the point that I was wanting to make with this one. There is no prohibition against having 12 players in the huddle in high school. There is also no prohibition against breaking the huddle with 12 players in high school. The rule on substitutions simply requires that the player being substituted for must leave immediately. It is up to the officials to determine what "immediately" means. In the situation I described, I would say that a second or two is immediate and would not call anything, particularly if the replaced player runs directly to the sideline.