FOOTBALL

General Rules and Regulations

1.   National Federation rules.

2.   Game Jerseys:  The visiting team team shall wear white or light-colored jerseys, unless a change is agreed to by the athletic directors of both schools.

3.   Scouting:  No scouting at practices is permitted.  Scouting at scrimmages is only permitted by mutual agreement of the coaches.

4.   Videotape Exchange:  Tape of the most recent game shall be available on Sunday or Monday as agreed upon by the coaches.

5.  It is recommended that a physician be present at all football games.  If the services of a physician cannot be obtained, coverage should be provided by persons qualified to give emergency care (e.g. physician assistants, emergency squads, athletic trainers). From NYSPHSAA Handbook.

6.  At all varsity games an adult shall be a member of the chain crew and will be available to consult with the head linesman at least 15 minutes before game time.

7.   Protests:  Judgment calls may not be protested.

To protest a decision which may have resulted from misapplication or misinterpretation of a rule, the coach must (a) direct a player or incoming substitute to request a timeout for a coach-referee conference prior to the time the ball becomes alive following the play to be reviewed, and (b) request the referee to review his decision.

The referee must review the decision which may have resulted from misapplication or misinterpretation of a rule with the coach; confer with the other game officials; have access to the current editions of the National Federation Official High School Rule and Case Books which shall be in the possession of the down marker man; and render a final decision.

A charged time-out occurs when no change in the ruling results.  An official's time-out occurs when a coach-referee conference concerning the misapplication of a rule results in the referee altering his ruling.

A delay of game - 5 yard penalty shall be assessed for a coach-referee conference after all permissible charged time-outs for the coach's team have been used, and during which the referee is requested to reconsider the application of a rule and no change in the ruling results.

8.  Division standings will be determined by implementing the Power Rating Point System.

9.  Division schedules will be devised based on the coaches' seeding of division teams.

10. Pre-Season Practice Format - NYSPHSAA Rules (Approved by the Athletic Council 1/11/11):

    a.  The first two days of practice must be non-contact, without the use of protective equipment and mechanical blocking devices.  The use of cones, ropes, ladders, step-over dummies, soft hand shields and similar devices as teaching aides is permissible.  Helmets may be worn.

    d.   Interscholastic scrimmages/contests may commence after ten practices have been completed by the individual player and team. 

11.  The 20-yard line overtime procedure for breaking ties will be used in all division games.

12.  In any school which does not field a varsity football team, a student in his/her final year of athletic eligibility is prohibited from playing at the junior varsity level.

13.  High school soccer players are given the opportunity to participate in football as kickers.  (Approved 1/10/07)

14. The visiting varsity football teams are provided the opportunity to set up a portable endzone camera. Portable is defined as a unit which can be carried by one person (no trucks, cherry pickers, lifts, etc.). Home school determines which endzone visiting team portable endzone camera will be located. Lack of an endzone camera by one team will not preclude the other team from using an endzone camera.

NYSPHSAA/Section XI Sports Standards 
Approved at Section XI Athletic Council 5/18/04 

The minimum number of eligible players required for a team to participate in a contest (game or scrimmage) is:

16 - HS (Varsity, JV, JV9)
16 - Modified  (Approved by the Athletic Council 1/13/09)
                          
Seeding Procedures

1.    The Section XI sport chairman will schedule division seeding meetings.

2.    Team information forms requesting pertinent data will be completed by each coach in preparation for the seeding process.

3.    At the meeting, team information forms and division seeding forms will be distributed.

4.    Each voting representative will be expected to report on their anticipated strength and/or weakness and provide a suggested ranking for their own team within the division.  Speaking order:

        14 teams:  8, 7, 9, 6, 10, 5, 11, 4, 12, 3, 13, 2, 14, 1
        13 teams:  7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 10, 4, 11, 3, 12, 2, 13, 1
        12 teams:  7, 6, 8, 5, 9, 4, 10, 3, 11, 2, 12, 1
        11 teams:  6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 3, 10, 2, 11, 1

5.    Time should be allowed for coaches to review data and rank all other teams (excluding their own) within the division.  Following the speaking order, each coach will report his ranking.

6.    Teams not represented will be ranked by coaches in attendance.  The average rankings of coaches in attendance will be used.

7.     New Seeding Variable- In an effort to improve accuracy of seeding, the highest seed rank (highest single seed) and the lowest seed rank (lowest single seed) of the subjective ranking will not be included in each teams total score. For example from a 14 team division: Team A receives seed ranks of 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3, 4, 2, 3 and 8. The subjective total score for Team A would NOT include one of the 2 seeds and the 8 seed. The subjective total score for Team A would be calculated using the remaining eleven scores. (3/12/18)

8.    A subjective ranking will be devised from the rankings by totaling the scores (numerical ranking) for each team.  The lowest score will be the highest ranked, etc.

9.    a.   If a team competed in a higher division the previous year, it will be placed a half position higher than its finish the previous year.
       b.   If a team competed in a lower division the previous year, it will be placed a half position lower than the previous year.

10.    Ties in subjective seeding will be broken by:
       a.   Team's own ranking
       b.    Where they finished previous year

11.  If one team drops in a division after June 1st, any contest scheduled with that team will be considered a forfeit.  Approved 1/15/14

12.  If one team drops in any division prior to June 1st, the Football Committee will reconvene and approve the scheduling procedure.  Approved 1/15/14

13.    If two teams drop in any division prior to August 1st, a new schedule will be developed for that division. Approved 3/8/11

14.    The divisional semi-final will be scheduled at the higher seed with the home school determining the date (Friday or Saturday) and time of the contest. 

15.    Football
        - 8 power-ranked games will be scheduled which will determine the final standings.
      - A 9th football game will be scheduled as follows:
            ~ Section XI tournament qualifying round at higher seed:  1 vs. 8; 2 vs. 7; 3 vs. 6; 4 vs. 5
            ~ Winning team will qualify for the tournament semi-final.  Teams will be seeded for the semi-final based on the regular season results.
            ~ No admission will be charged.
            ~ Schools are responsible for their own costs.
            ~ Night games will be permitted.

New Team Criteria- In an effort to encourage new football teams and reflect current times, any school that did not have a varsity football team the year before (did not play 1 game) will be added to a division determined by ADs through conference voting for a 2 year growth period (Not Eligible for playoffs if a team is placed outside enrollment). The ‘New Team’ cannot displace another football team’s placement. 

Power Rating Point System

Division standings will be determined by implementing the Power Rating Point System. At the completion of a division schedule, the following procedure will be:

STEP I
Assign the proper winning and losing percentage rating to each team based on its record. (See chart)
Example:  
Team X: record 5-2-1, winning raw score .71, losing raw score .29
Team Y: record 8-3-1, winning raw score .73, losing raw score .27

STEP II
Determine each team's individual point total as follows:
A.    For every win, add the winning percentage raw scores of the opponent.
B.    For every loss, subtract the losing raw scores of the opponent.
C.    Add each team's own winning percentage raw score to the total.

STEP III
Set the final standings by ranking the teams in order using accumulated point totals.  Results may be curved to prevent the publication of a negative total for any team by adding a like positive number (100 points) to all scores.

Strength of Schedule Point System

Double Relief Scheduling Option- If athletic directors, after consultation with their varsity head football coach, WITHIN any single division, feel the Double Relief OPTION is appropriate for their division for any given season, they can vote to implement it with a 75% majority. If a division votes to implement the Double Relief OPTION, it will be followed for that one season. Athletic Directors wishing to pursue this OPTION, must submit a request to the Section XI Executive Director and Football Chairperson 1 week prior to the annual spring football seeding meeting. (3/12/18)

Ties in Division Standings

The procedure for breaking ties in division standings (teams with exact power points):

1.    Head-to-head record breaks ties in point standings in favor of the winner.

2.    Comparative record versus the highest finishing common opponent.  If the record is the same, continue to compare the performance of each team against the highest finishing common opponents in descending order until the tie is broken.

3.    If the tie has not been broken using common opponents, it will be broken by the team that beat the highest finishing uncommon opponent.

4.    If the tie is still not broken, the highest ranked team as determined by division coaches at the pre-schedule meeting will be the team given the higher final division standing.
                                                                    (Approved Oct. 99)


Section XI Tournament Games:

Effective July 1, 2014, Section XI has adopted SPALDING as the official ball used in all Section XI playoff contests.  Schools are mandated to use a SPALDING product exclusively during ALL ROUNDS of the Section XI playoffs. 

Alpha Spalding Football Penalty : Penalties for teams who use a non-Alphi Spalding football during a post season Section XI game (includes kicking game) 3/12/18
                        1^st Offense: Unsportsmanlike penalty on head coach- 15 yard penalty & loss of down*
                        2^nd Offense:-Unsportsmanlike penalty on head coach (head coach ejected)- 15 yard penalty & loss of down*
                        Additional Offenses: 15 yard penalty with loss of down*
                        *Kick-off: Re-kick and access penalty

   Points of interest:
         1) If an official accidentally receives a non Alpha Spalding ball throughout the game, they are encouraged to return the non Alpha Spalding ball to the team bench in exchange for a Alpha Spalding ball and NOT implement a penalty. Penalties are only to be assessed AFTER a team using a non Alpha Spalding ball.
         2) Kick-offs- If kicking team uses a non Alpha Spalding ball, the kick will be a re-kick and penalty assessed according to above. 

 
A.    Semi-final and final games are sponsored by Section XI.  The host school will be reimbursed for expenses as stipulated by Section XI.  Admission will be charged.

B.    Postponements - The decision to postpone the Section XI Division Semi-Final shall be made by the home school Athletic Director.  The decision to postpone the Section XI Division Final shall be made in concert with Section XI and the sport chairman.  (Approved 3/10/09)

C.    Protests - The on-field officials shall be the official protest committee.  All protests shall be made to the referee prior to the play following the contested ruling. The referee will convene the protest committee, which will render a decision before play continues.  Said decision is final!

D.    The 20-yard line overtime system for breaking ties will be used in all Section XI tournament games.

E.    Halftime will be 20 minutes in length.  Each school will be allotted eight minutes for an appropriate presentation of their choosing.

Long Island Championships - All teams will be responsible for supplying and using the Spalding Alpha Ball (3/12/18)


Varsity Football 20-Yard Line Overtime Procedure

If at the end of the fourth quarter the teams have the identical scores, the tie will be resolved by the following method approved by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.  All game rules will apply except:
a.   No try will be made if the winner of the game has been determined;
b.   If Team B scores a safety, the game is ended;
c.   If Team B gains possession, the down and series for Team A ends immediately;
d.   No free kick privileges are awarded following a fair catch or awarded fair catch.

When the score is tied at the end of the fourth quarter, the referee will instruct both teams to return to their respective team boxes.  There will be a three-minute intermission during which both teams may confer with their coaches.  All officials will assemble at the 50-yard line and review the procedure.  The referee shall inform each coach that unused time outs do not carry over. The linesman will go to the team on the side of the field where the line-to-gain equipment is located, and the line judge will go to the other team and escort the respective team captains to the center of the field for the coin toss. 

At the coin toss, the visiting team captain shall be given the privilege of calling the coin while it is in the air. The winner of the toss shall be given the choice of  defense or offense, or of designating the end of the field at which the ball will be put in play.  The referee will indicate the winner of the toss by placing a hand on his shoulder.  To indicate which team will go on offense first, the referee will place a ball in the team captain's chest area while he is facing the goal toward which his team will advance and give the first down signal.  The other team captain will face the offensive captain with his back toward the goal which he will defend.

Each team shall be permitted one additional time-out for each extra period.  The team scoring the greater number of points in the overtime shall be declared the winner.  The final score shall be determined by totaling all points scored by each team during the regulation and overtime periods.

To start the overtime, the offensive team (Team A) shall put the ball in play, first and 10 on Team B's 20-yard line anywhere between the inbound lines.  Team A shall have a series of four downs. The series shall be terminated by any score by Team A or, if Team B had possession, at the end of any down.  Team A shall be awarded a new series when: 
a.   NFHS rules apply; 
b.   Team A recovers a scrimmage-kick (field goal attempt) between the goal lines after it has been touched first by Team B beyond the neutral zone; 
c.   When Team B is guilty of roughing the kicker, or place kicker holder or passer.

If Team A scores a touchdown, it is entitled to the opportunity to try for points, except when it is unnecessary to break the tie. A field goal attempt is permitted during any down.  If the defensive team gains possession, the ball becomes dead immediately and Team A's series is ended.

After team A has completed its series, Team B will become the offensive team with the ball in its possession at the 20-yard line anywhere between the inbound lines. The same end of the field will be used for both possessions in order to insure equal game conditions and conserve time. 

If the score remains tied after each team has been given one series, the procedure shall be repeated until a winner is determined. There will be an intermission of two minutes during which the loser of the coin toss will be given first choice of the options.  If additional periods are required, first choice of options will be alternated.

Rev: 1/16