League Information

              League Rules

Game Rules

Rules Before the "Coin Flip"

Unless delayed by an earlier game's overtime period, league games must start on time.

Each game will begin at the top of the hour (i.e. 10:00AM)

Teams are encouraged to show up at least 15 minutes early. There will be plenty of room to warm up.

If a team does not have 5 or more players on the field at the start of the game, they will forfeit the game.

The captain of a team may reject an opponents forfeit for up to 10 minutes if said captain wishes to allow the other team a chance to gather the minimum 5 players required for play.

During any delay prior to kickoff, the game clock will run as scheduled and a shortened half will be played once sufficient numbers are obtained.

If after 10 minutes, a team is still short of the minimum, the game will go final (with a score of 1-0).

If both teams are short of players, the game will be recorded as a double-forfeit draw.

COIN TOSS + Bear Ninja Hunter + Rock Paper Scissors 

A coin toss will take place (at midfield, between the two captains) prior to the game to determine possession and sides.

The visiting team's captain will call heads or tails while the coin is in the air.

Alternatively, at the referee's discretion, team captains may be asked to play rock-paper-scissors or bear-ninja-hunter to determine possession. 

The captain who wins the toss or draw may choose between starting on offense or defense. Alternatively, the captain may instead pick which side they want to defend. 

To avoid confusion, there will be no option to defer.

The loser of the coin toss/draw will get to pick possession or direction, depending on what's left after the winning captain picks. 

A coin flip/rock-paper-scissors/bear-ninja-hunter will also take place prior to overtime (still without the option to defer).

In Game Clock and Timeouts

Games will consist of two 25 minute halves.

Halves will be separated by a 2 minute halftime.

Overtime will be not be timed.

Once the ball is set, offenses will have 25 seconds to snap the ball.

Referees will warn teams who are taking too long to get to the line (This is a judgment call by the ref and will not be timed by hand).

If teams continue to take too long between plays, the referee will impose a 10 second countdown to speed up play.

During playoffs and at the referees discretion, an actual play clock may be put to utilized, but regular season games will adhere to the above rules.

In both halves, the clock will stop when a timeout is called.

In the second half, the clock will stop at the two minute warning. Inside of two minutes, the clock will stop after a score or change of possession, on incomplete passes and on plays that end with a runner going out of bounds.

Every team gets no more than 3 timeouts a game; overtime will not add to the allotment of timeouts.

First Downs and Scoring

At the start of each half, or after any score, offenses will begin their drives on their own 25 (the 50 during split field contests).

A team will obtain a first down every 25 yards (at the midfield and the opponent's 25 yard line).

The first down markers do not move based on yards needed for an additional first down. For example, if an offense gains 49 yards on the first play of the game, the next play will be 1st and 1 from the opponent's 26. 

In the event an offense crosses a first down marker but a post play penalty moves the ball back behind said first down, it will not change the new set of downs earned (ie: a 27 yard pass play from the 50, accompanied by a 15 yard post-play taunting penalty moves the ball from the 23 to the 38 yard line and does not create a 1st and 13; rather it will be first and goal from the 38)

Kickoffs and all other special team plays do not exist in this league. 

An offense has 4 downs to move the ball past the first down.

If a play prior to fourth down ends in an offenses own end zone, a safety will not be awarded. The offense will maintain possession and the next play will start on the goal line.

If an offense turns the ball over, and the defense fails to score, the ball will placed at the next first down marker.

(for example; if an offense goes 4 plays and out without gaining a yard, the opposing offense will take over at the 25. However, if an offense turns it over on downs/tags a defender on their own 26, the ball will go back to the 50. If the turnover on downs takes place on the opponents 26, the ball will go to the 25.)

Overtime possessions will begin 25 yards outside of the end zone.

If a team defends first in an overtime period, they will defend second in the next period (likewise for offenses).

A defensive touchdown is scored in overtime by advancing the football across the midfield (in split field games still the 50 yard line)

Snapping, Rushing, Blitzing & Blocking, Tagging, Etc

Each offensive snap must take place with a snap from the center.

A center snapping the ball is not an eligible receiver, nor may he advance down field.

A center snap my not be intentionally long, slow, or high to slow an opposing pass rush.

Handoffs are not permitted.

Tosses and passes behind the line are allowed.

A center may receive a toss or backwards pass at any time.

A defenders may cross the line of scrimmage immediately after QB tosses or fake tosses the ball behind him.

The defense is allotted one blitz per four downs. Blitzes do not accumulate if unused. 

Blitzing defenders may not "Snap Jump" and are only permitted to cross the line after the ball is in the QB's hands.

Unless Blitzing or upon a run fake, pass rushers may not cross the line of scrimmage until after the referee counts to 5.

A QB may scramble only if blitzed or rushed.

If a defender is drawn across the line due to a run fake, it will not count as a blitz or rush and QB's may not scramble.

If a defender is drawn across the line due to a run fake and sacks the QB in the process it will still not count as a blitz.

Light blocking is permitted with restrictions.

Blindsiding, launching, or cutting a defender is prohibited.

Blocks must be made with hands rather than shoulders.

A team may keep a center and/or backs/receivers in to block.

Referees will issue warnings if blocking interactions are getting too chippy, before resorting to flagging blockers.

A runner is down once tagged by two hands of another player simultaneously.

If a runner goes to the ground, only one hand is required, but the runner is not down until tagged.

The ball is dead if a runner fumbles or a lateral hits the ground.

The ball remains live if a lateral is intercepted by a defender.

A receiver needs two feet or one knee/butt in bounds in order for a pass to be ruled completed.

Force outs will not be counted as catches.

If a defender takes a knee in their own end zone, prior to leaving it on a takeaway, a touch-back will be called.

Touchbacks will result in offenses taking over on the 25 yard line (in full field games only).

Referees will determine when a play is dead if a player attempts to give themselves up in bounds.

Penalties and Yardage

Play is blown dead penalties:

Encroachment: 5 yards

Offsides (unabated to the QB): 5 yards 

Illegal formation (offensive player offsides): 5 yards

False Start (running before the snap): 5 yards

Snap infraction (see: long slow high snap rule) 5 yards

Penalty enforced post play penalties:

Offensive Holding: 10 yards

Defensive Holding: 5 yards automatic first down defense

Clipping: 15 yards

Offsides: 5 yards

Block to the back: 10 yards

Chop block and block below the waist: 15 yards

Excessive block/shoulder block: 15 yards

Blitzing more than once per 4 downs: 5 yards

Delay of Game: 5 yards

Hands to face: 10 yards offense/5 yards automatic first down defense

Illegal forward pass: 5 yard penalty loss of down

Scrambling too early: 5 yard penalty loss of down

Illegal touching (by a player that went out of bounds): 5 yard penalty loss of down

Illegal contact downfield on defense: 5 yards automatic first down

Palpably unfair act (i.e. coming off the sidelines to interfere with a play): Yardage or touchdown at refs discretion, automatic ejection

Personal Foul: 15 yards/15 yards and automatic first down if defense

Pass interference: 10 yards on offense (NO LOSS OF DOWN)/Spot foul on defense, first down

Roughing the passer: (contacting Qb unnecessarily post pass) 15 yards (added to yards gained

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: 15 yards offense/15 and automatic 1st down defense (If it occurs on a scoring play prior to a the ball crossing the goal line, the penalty nullifies the score and will be assessed from the spot. If it occurs after a score via celebration or taunting by the offense, the opponent's next drive will start on the 40, instead of on the 25 for full field games/35 going in on split field... either way 1st down and 10 instead of 1st and 25)

Note on Personal Fouls: Personal Fouls are conduct and safety related infractions, which include unnecessary roughness, such as hitting a ball carrier after he is already out of bounds, diving on a player on the ground, or violent contact with an opponent who is away from and out of the play. If the officials decide that the action was particularly flagrant, the player in question may be ejected. Because this is a limited contact league, laying out a receiver or runner will result in a personal foul. Collisions resulting from the nature of the game, such as 2 players going for a ball, will not be penalized. A ball carrier or defender should not lower their shoulder prior to contact, and will be flagged for it. There is no room for head hunting in this league.

Mercy Rules and Suspending Play

If a team is up by 4 touchdowns or more in the second half, clock will not stop between downs or possessions. Timeouts will still stop the clock. Clock stoppage may revert back to standard rules if it becomes a one possession game.

The referee has the right to end a game at any time due to bad weather or other conditions that make play unsafe.

The score at the time will be final.

The turf will rarely if ever be unplayable due to inclement weather, however contingency plans are in place in the event of

postponements.

Makeup games will either be played at the end of the regular season, or if necessary as doubleheaders.

Doubleheader weeks will have 2 games being played concurrently, from the 50 in, with one referee per game. 

Ten Conduct Related Points

1. Verbal abuse of the refs will result in a 15 yard penalty.

2. Multiple penalties for verbally abusing referees by the same player will result in an 15 yard penalty and ejection.

3. Threatening or physically contacting an official in a hostile manner will result in an ejection.

4. Any player ejected will be suspended for at least the following week's games as well.

5. Ejected players are permitted to watch the games quietly from the stands/sideline but must not come back onto the field. 

6. There will be no refund for a suspended player, regardless of suspension length.

7. The league commissioner will determine the length of suspensions and relay the information to team captains.

8. Other misconduct between players (i.e. fighting, spitting, threatening) will result in ejections and subsequent suspensions.

9. Leveling an opponent maliciously will result in a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty on first offense.

10. Repeat offenders of unnecessary roughness penalties will be penalized harshly, ejected, and or suspended.

Important Playoff Information:

Playoff Rosters

While teams will be permitted to use members of other teams to fill in for missing players during the regular season, during the playoffs a team may not use non-roster players.

Playoff Format

The playoffs are single elimination.

Depending on league size, the playoffs may take place over multiple weeks or on multiple/split fields.

There will not be a guaranteed play-in game if the league is finalized with an uneven number of teams, and in the event of an odd number of teams, the last place team in the standings may miss the playoffs entirely. 

There may be some kind of all star game and/or pick up game contest at the end of the season, if time permits and if league participants are interested.

HFS Tiebreakers

Ties in the standings will be broken using the following criteria:

• 1. Head-to-head record

  2. Season Point differential (PF minus PA)

  3. Coin toss

                                                                                         Last Updated: January 27, 2025