2nd-4th Flag

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FLAG FOOTBALL – 2nd-4th grade

SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY:

  1. Boys in grades 2-4
  2. Games shall be played on fields deemed appropriate and scheduled by PLKC. Standard field size

shall be 50 yards in length by 30 yards in width, with some fields varying based on age and

existing dimensions. End zones shall be at least 8 yards in length on either side. The following

additional rules apply to the field of play:

  1. The area marked 5 yards out from each end zone shall be considered the “No Running

Zone” and no running plays shall be executed by either team within this zone.

  1. There shall be two lines marked at 18 yards out from each end zone (or adjusted for

scale of field) that shall be considered “First Down” lines. See rules for completing first

down.

  1. Uniform and Equipment – The official uniform for teams shall be provided by the team’s

sponsoring parish or by the CYO Office for high school leagues. It shall consist of shorts/pants

and a t-shirt or jersey top; flag football uniforms must meet all other PLKC uniform guidelines

regarding design and modesty. Shirts must be tucked in to shorts/pants at all times during

competition.

  1. Flags shall be provided by league for all contests. Players must wear flags as instructed,

with belt properly fastened and flags clearly visible over child’s uniform.

  1. Shoes are required for participation. Cleats are allowed and must meet standard PLKC

requirements (see PLKC Football rules section).

  1. Players must remove all jewelry, including watches, earrings, or anything else deemed

hazardous by PLKC Officials or Administration. Soft braces are allowed provided child

has been cleared to participate with brace by physician. Sleeves and tights must be

white, black, beige or the predominant color of the player’s uniform. Headbands,

armbands and wristbands may also be worn provided they are white, black, beige or the

predominant color of the player’s uniform; if multiple players on the same team are

wearing accessories they must all be the same color. Tape is allowed on arm, fingers

or ankles. Players may wear gloves and/or (soft) knee or elbow pads.

  1. Mouth guards are required for each player participating. These must be appropriate size

and fit. Mouth guards must be plain; colors are allowed but there may be no logo, image

or writing visible on the mouth guard at any time.

  1. An adult supervisor shall be appointed by PLKC and be present at each facility during

games. The supervisor shall be the sole representative of the PLKC Office and shall have final say

in all decisions or disagreements before, during or after competition.

  1. The head coach and a player from each team shall meet at midfield prior to each game for the

coin toss. The team listed on the schedule as “visiting team” shall call the toss prior to coin flip.

Team winning the toss will receive the ball first with opposing team receiving ball first after

halftime. Officials may address any special facility rules or appropriate game notifications at this

time.

  1. Each team shall have six (6) players on the field of play at one time. Teams may begin play with

no less than five (5) players. Game time is considered forfeit time in all contests.

  1. The game shall be played using the following rules and guidelines:
  2. Teams shall start each possession at their offense’s own 5 yard line, with the exception

being that following interceptions teams shall take over at the spot where the player

was ruled down.

  1. Play will begin with the “center” snapping the ball to the “quarterback”. The offensive

team must have at least one player on the line of scrimmage at the snap on each play,

with up to four players allowed on the line of scrimmage. The center must snap the ball

through his legs and the ball must completely leave his hands.

  1. Teams on offense shall have three downs to reach a first down marker or score a

touchdown. First down markers shall be placed at approximately 18 yards out from each

end zone, so that a team beginning on its own 5 yard line may get two first downs

before scoring a touchdown. When a team reaches or passes the first down marker

their downs shall “reset” and they shall have three more downs to reach the other first

down marker or the end zone.

  1. There shall be no punting or kicking in the game. Teams not reaching a first down

marker in three attempts shall turn the ball over to the other team, who shall begin

possession from their own 5 yard line.

  1. The ball is considered a live ball when snapped and remains so until the ball carrier’s flag

has been pulled or the ball hits the ground and the official whistles the ball dead. A

player who catches the ball in the air is considered in-bounds if one foot touches in the

field of play prior to the remainder of his body landing.

  1. There are no fumbles in the game. All “fumbles” shall be considered a dead-ball where

the ball hit the ground and the offensive team shall retain possession. A fumble does

not result in a turnover to the other team. A dropped exchange from the center to the

quarterback (either direct snap or in shotgun) shall be considered a fumble.

  1. Any ball carrier whose flags fall off during the play, even accidental without a defensive

play on the flags, shall be considered down at that spot. See Rule 10, Part L regarding

receivers.

  1. Each touchdown is worth six points. The team shall then have one attempt from the 5

yard line to reach the end zone worth another two points. The “No Running Zone” is not

in affect during the two point conversion attempt and teams may pass or run.

Regardless of the play’s success, the opposing team shall start with ball at it’s own

offensive 5 yard line following the two point conversion. An interception off a two point

conversion may not be returned and the play will be considered dead upon the

defensive player taking possession.

➢ A touchdown, two-point conversion, and safety shall be the only scoring

plays in the game. A safety is called when an offensive player is called down

in his own end zone.

  1. All players on the field shall be considered eligible to throw, run or catch the ball on

each play.

  1. Substitutions may be allowed on any dead ball.
  2. Blocking or screening of any kind is not allowed. An offensive player may not impede a

defensive player’s path to the ball carrier, including when the defensive player is rushing

the passer from a legal rushing position (see Rule 6, Part L). Once the ball carrier crosses

the line of scrimmage or receives a pass, all other offensive players should cease moving

to avoid penalty.

  1. The quarterback may not run directly with the ball from the snap. He may handoff or

lateral/pitch the ball to another player, as well as scramble behind the line of

scrimmage, but cannot run directly. A player who takes a handoff or lateral behind the

line of scrimmage may throw the ball. No handoffs or laterals are allowed once the ball

carrier passes the line of scrimmage.

  1. A defensive player may rush the passer provided he begins the play at least 7 yards from

the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. Any player beginning the play

within 7 yards is not eligible to rush the passer. Once the quarterback has completed a

handoff or lateral/pitch, all defensive players are eligible to cross the line of scrimmage.

➢ A player crossing the line of scrimmage may attempt to block a pass by

jumping but may not come into contact with the passer at any time (results

in Roughing the Passer penalty). A ball batted down will be considered a

dead ball at that spot and remain with the offensive team provided it is not

fourth down, regardless of whether it is a forward pass or pitch/lateral.

  1. Flag Guarding is considered an attempt by the ball carrier to impede the defensive

players’ attempt to pull his flag. A ball carrier may not impede the defensive players’

attempt to pull his flag at any time through use of hands, uniform or any other method

of “guarding” the flags. However, the offensive player may spin and/or move laterally

from left to right to avoid the flag pull, provided that they do not guard the flag in any

other way. An offensive player may only leave his feet if it is clearly an attempt to avoid

a collision without receiving a penalty, though he will be declared down at that spot.

  1. Only one player is allowed “in-motion” at a time and all motion must be lateral to the

line of scrimmage and not moving toward the line of scrimmage.

  1. Defenders may not tackle, hold, or dive at the ball carrier in anyway while trying to grab

a flag.

  1. Clock – Games are played with a 44-minute running clock and shall be split into two 22-minute

halves. Halftime is 6-minutes. The official game clock shall be kept by the official(s). The clock

shall only stop for timeouts, though the official(s) may stop the clock at any time at their

discretion, including for injuries.

  1. Each team shall have one 1-minute timeout per half, for a total of two timeouts per

game. Timeouts do not carry over to the second half if not used in the first half.

  1. If the game ends in a tie, no overtime period shall be played except during end of season

playoffs at the 5th and 6th grade levels.

  1. Each team shall have 30 seconds from the end of the previous play to run a new play.

Time shall be kept by the official and failure to run play shall result in “delay of game”

penalty.

  1. When a team is winning by 35 points or more in the second half, the trailing team is provided

one more opportunity to score in order to continue regulation play. If the team does not

succeed in scoring, the game is considered over at that point and scoring stopped at that time.

However, if more than 10 minutes remains in regulation time at the point in which the game is

stopped, the trailing team may have up to two consecutive offensive possessions as time allows

in order to attempt to score. Each possession will last until the team scores, fails to reach a first

down, or turns over the ball. Points are not counted toward the final score. The game shall end

regardless when full time has been reached.

  1. Penalties and Yardage. Officials shall be the only individuals who may call penalties during the

game. Their ruling is considered final and may not be argued or reviewed. Coaches arguing

penalties may be given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

  1. False Start results in a loss of five yards from the line of scrimmage.
  2. Defensive Offside shall be called when any defensive player crosses the line of

scrimmage at any time prior to the snap of the ball. The play shall be whistled dead at

the time of the penalty and the penalty shall be five yards forward from the line of

scrimmage.

  1. Offensive Pass Interference results in a loss of five yards from the line of scrimmage and

a loss of down.

  1. Defensive Pass Interference results in the ball being placed at the spot of the foul and an

automatic first down being given to the offensive team.

  1. Illegal Motion is called when more than one person is moving prior to the snap on the

offensive side of the ball. Results in a loss of five yards.

  1. Illegal Blocking shall be called on any offensive player impeding a defensive player’s

attempt at the ball carrier, either while rushing or pursuing a player beyond the line of

scrimmage. The result shall be a loss of five yards and loss of down.

  1. Flag guarding shall result in a loss of five yards from the spot of the foul and a loss of

down.

  1. Unsportsmanlike Conduct shall be called in the event of any unnecessary roughness or

inappropriate behavior on behalf of players, coaches or fans. Any penalty called on

coaches or fans shall be assessed to the team they represent. The penalty shall be a loss

of ten yards from the spot of the foul and a loss of down. Two unsportsmanlike conduct

penalties on any individual will result in ejection from the contest and an automatic

suspension from the next game (see General Rules of Competition).

  1. An Illegal Rush shall be called on any player who rushes from a starting point within 7

yards of the line of scrimmage. The penalty moves the offensive team five yards forward

from the line of scrimmage.

  1. Holding shall be called on any defensive player who holds an offensive player. The

penalty shall be five yards from the end of the play and an automatic first down.

  1. Roughing the Passer shall be called if contact is made with the quarterback in any way

by the defensive player other than in pulling the quarterback’s flag while he has the ball.

The penalty shall be ten yards from the end of the play and an automatic first down.

  1. An Illegal flag pull shall be called on any defensive player who pulls a player’s flags

before he receives the ball either through a pass or running play. This shall also be

called on any defensive player who dives at the ball carrier in attempt to grab flags.

Only the ball carrier may have his flags pulled during a play. An illegal flag pull results in

a 10 yard penalty and automatic first down for the offensive team.

➢ In the event the defensive player did not make a play on the flags of an

offensive player yet the flags fall off, an official may deem an illegal flag pull

“inadvertent” at his discretion and may choose not to assess a penalty. Any

receiver or ball carrier whose flags fall off “inadvertently” will be considered

down at that spot. A receiver may catch the ball after his flags have fallen

off but will be considered down immediately following the catch.

  1. During Flag Football games from 1st through 4th grade, one coach from each team

will be allowed on the field during play. This coach may instruct the participants on his or her

team but may not interfere with play.