Sep182009
Mercy rule in high school football
Filed under Fall sports, Football, General, High School Sports, NHIAA, Rules & Officials by bob hammerstrom at 5:22 am
I was talking with one of our sports reporters at The Telegraph yesterday about the use of the mercy rule in New Hampshire high school football. We both had different recollections of the rule. At Pinkerton Academy in Derry last weekend, the mercy rule was announced over the loud speaker at half-time. I hadn’t every heard of it before, but it exists.
The rule basically states that if the point spread of the game reaches 35 points after the first half, the clock will continue to run in the second half, only to be stopped for penalties, injuries, time outs, referee measurments, and scores. This was the first game I’ve ever seen the rule used, and the second half did fly by pretty fast.
You can find the rule on the NHIAA web site, and I also copied and pasted it below:
—————————————————————————————
11. MERCY RULE:
Once the point spread reaches 35 and it is after the 2nd half, the clock will not be stopped except for
penalties and scores. If the point spread goes below 35 after the 2nd half this rule will remain in effect.
Whenever the point differential is equal to or greater than 35 at any time during the second half of play, the
referee shall notify both head coaches of the implementation of the running clock rule. The game shall
thereafter be played with a running clock with the following exceptions:
• The clock shall be stopped after a score and shall start in accordance with normal procedures on the
ensuing kickoff.
• The clock shall be stopped if a team requests a time-out.
• The clock shall be stopped if a player is injured.
• The clock shall be stopped for penalty administration.
• The clock shall be stopped for measurement for a possible first down.
• Whenever the clock is stopped under this rule, it shall be started with the ready-for-play, except for a
kickoff as specified above.
—————————————————————————————–
Although this rule is similar to the 10-run rule in baseball after 5 innings, the game still goes on in football. At this point the junior varsity players should already be seeing action to gain experience. After a 35-point spread in a game there’s no reason for a coach to leave the starters in the game. I think at 50 points the game should be called, as it is in baseball after 10 runs!
-Bob Hammerstrom
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