You see the darnedest things when officiating youth football games.
While I wasn’t present, the above clip was taken at a Bill George Youth Football game in my area and is indicative of something you will see on a youth field that I can’t imagine seeing at the high school level. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time it was drawn up, but it is simply illegal under NFHS rules.
Rule 9-4-3 (e) states, “No player or nonplayer shall position himself on the shoulders or body of a teammate or opponent to gain an advantage.” While case 9.4.3 SITUATION E (b) does not describe the action completely, it does provide the guidance needed to determine that a foul occurred on this play. It states that if ”B1 steps on the back of snapper A1 immediately after the snap as he propels himself into the air to block a punt” a personal foul has been committed.
The rule lists that no player shall position himself on the body of a teammate or opponent. The case play could just as easily read, “B1 steps on the back of B2 immediately after the snap as he propels himself over the offensive line to make a tackle in the backfield”.
To answer the question in the YouTube posters video title…
No, it’s not legal.
Does anyone see the second foul that occurred as a result of the 9-4-3 (e) violation?
