Red Dirt Football Association Rules 2018 Page 1 of 9 Version 1.7
SECTION 1: GATE FEES 1.1 Gate admission for regular season and playoff games are $5.00 for adults and senior citizens and $2.00 for students (K-12). Football players and cheerleaders must be in uniform to be admitted free. 1.2 Each town will receive the following passes: - Six (6) Football coaches per grade - Two (2) Cheerleader coaches per grade 1.3 Each pass will bear the name of the individual to which the pass is being issued and everyone must present their pass when entering the gate, No Exceptions. Any coach that lets any one use his or her pass will lose their pass for the rest of the season. Lost or stolen passes are not easy to replace. Duplicates made will cost $30.00. 1.4 All names of coaches for passes will be submitted to the league secretary at the August meeting. SECTION 2: ROSTERS 2.1 Each member organization will provide an official team roster. This roster will consist of the name, jersey number, date of birth, and name of school for each player, for each grade level, for each game. Rosters must be signed by each head coach and the member organization s coordinator and returned to league secretary. 2.2 A copy of each player s birth certificate must be in the possession of the coach or that member organization s coordinator. Each member organization can determine which policy is best for them. If a birth certificate is requested by the head coach, game will play under protest, until coordinator(s) can verify eligibility. If found that a player is ineligible the game will result in forfeit and offending coach will be excluded from participating in the next game. Requests MUST be made before the game at weigh in. 2.3 All rosters must be returned to the RDYFA secretary by the Wednesday before first game so that they can be posted on the website. 2.4 Any add/drop to the official roster must be done electronically via the league vice president and secretary before Wednesday of the third week of September or else the player will not be accepted. 2.5 Rosters will not change once finalized, except under specific circumstances. If a player will be playing up one grade in the 2018 season that player must be rostered on both teams before the first game. 2.6 For players to play up one grade, the players must be rostered at the beginning of the season. Any exceptions, granted the day of, play at the opposing coach s consent. Weight restrictions still apply and can be either, carried over from the previous weigh in, or re-weighed between games. SECTION 3: ELIGIBILITY 3.1 Player cut off dates are as follows: 3.1.1 6 th graders cannot turn 13 before 9/1 3.1.2 5 th graders cannot turn 12 before 9/1 3.1.3 4 th graders cannot turn 11 before 9/1 3.1.4 3 rd graders cannot turn 10 before 9/1 2
3.1.5 2 nd graders cannot turn 9 before 9/1 3.2 It is the position of the RDYFA, that all kids who wish to participate in football can do so, but RDYFA has some necessary restrictions to prevent teams from taking advantage of this loophole to unfairly stack a team. When a town is so small as to not have enough kids to fill a roster, these are the measures available to remedy the situation. 3.2.1 Recruit Up: All players must participate in the grade level they are currently enrolled for the current school year. Teams with less than 15 players may allow players to be moved up one grade above their official roster to make a 15-player roster maximum. If in the event enough players are still not available to field a team the team must forfeit. Players cannot play down a grade for safety reasons. 3.2.2 Recruit from the surrounding area: No players can be recruited from another RDYFA town/school district. Nor can a recruit be drawn from a non-rdyfa district where football is already offered. 3.2.3 Set a cap: Recruiting from outside one s district must stop once the roster reaches 15 players. EXAMPLE: If a team has only 8 players from their home district, they can only pull 7 players from the surrounding area. If, however, it is found that a player from the home district is turned away so that a non-rdyfa can be recruited instead, to reach 15 players, RDYFA will convene to investigate and consider summary action. 3.3 RDYFA will not break up a previously assemble team. If it can be established, by providing a 2017 roster, that a player was on that team, the player will be allowed to continue to be on that team. ALL future rosters will reflect the new eligibility guidelines. SECTION 4: PRACTICES 4.1 Teams will not be allowed to start practicing, with or without pads before August 1 st. Any town found holding any type of practices before this date will jeopardize their play-off eligibility. 4.2 Each member organization must certify that every coach does online courses for Heat Illness Prevention as well as Concussion courses via http://nfshlearn.com/courses or http://nays.org/resources/more/ or they will not receive their coach s badges. SECTION 5: SCHEDULING 5.1 The first game of the RDYFA season will be determined by the board prior to the start of each new season. 5.2 Each town will play 8 regular season games not including Playoffs or Championship games. 5.3 Towns can deviate from the schedule if both town coordinators involved agree. The hometown team must notify the Referee Coordinator, league President, Vice President, or Secretary no later than Wednesday before the originally scheduled game. 5.4 The hometown coordinators have the authority to terminate a game due to field conditions. If a game is cancelled due to weather or any other problem, the hometown team is required to contact the league 3
President, Secretary, Referee Coordinator and the opposing town coordinator no later than Wednesday of the following week. Each town coordinator involved must agree on the make-up game date. If an agreement cannot be reached, the RDYFA President will designate the make-up time and date. If the date cannot be played by one of the towns, it will equal a forfeit by the town unable to play. In addition to cancellations, if the referee s do not get called on time and they show up for the games, the home team will be responsible for paying the referee s $35.00 each for showing up. 5.5 If any team willingly forfeits or just does not show up, that town will be fined $300.00 payable to the RDYFA to cover the cost of the officiating crew. 5.5.1 If the team that willingly forfeits is the visiting team the $300.00 fine will be made payable to the home town by the RDYFA using funds collected from the team that forfeited. Payment must be received within 2 weeks. 5.5.2 If the team that willingly forfeits is the home team the $300.00 fine will be split and $150.00 will be made payable to the visiting town and $150.00 to the RDYFA. This will be used to assist with future league finances. Payment must be received within 2 weeks. SECTION 6: GAME TIMES 6.1 Unless pre-arranged under special circumstances, game times will be set as follows: 6.1.1 2 nd grade games will begin at 11:00 AM 6.1.2 3 rd grade games will begin at 12:00 PM 6.1.3 4 th grade games will begin at 1:30 PM 6.1.4 5 th grade games will begin at 3:00 PM 6.1.5 6 TH grade games will begin at 4:30 PM 6.2 No game will be allowed to start ahead of the official start time without the consent of both teams head coaches and the officiating crew. 6.3 Officials will call for captains and teams must be ready to kick off right at scheduled time. 6.4 Halftime for all grade levels will be eight minutes long. Both teams must be out on the field before the time is up. Cheerleaders can perform during half time as long as it does not delay the game. 6.5 2nd grade will play four 6-minute quarters per game. All others will be 8-minute quarters per game. If a game runs over its normal time, there will be only five minutes allowed between games. Teams must be ready to take the field as soon as the other teams are off the field. SECTION 7: WEIGHT LIMITS 7.1 Player weight limits are as follows: Both coaches and home coordinator must approve scales prior to weigh-ins beginning. Weight limits below factor in the player s weight and his/her full pads, no helmet. - 6 th graders 164.9 pounds - 5 th graders 134.9 pounds - 4 th graders - 114.9 pounds - 3 rd graders - 99.9 pounds - 2 nd graders - 84.9 pounds 4
Any player exceeding these limits is required to have a sticker on their helmet. If a sticker is taken off during the game, the player will become ineligible for the rest of that game. These stickers are required to be approved of by RDYFA officer. 7.2 It is mandatory that all players be listed on the weigh-in sheets. Only players that are not stickered are required to weigh in, however, all players must be present for weigh in with their helmet and jersey for identification purposes. Weigh-in sheets are to be filled out by a representative of each team. It is mandatory for the weigh-in sheets to be exchanged between the home and visiting team. If any team refuses to exchange sheets, that team will be subjected to forfeit. 7.3 Player weigh-in begins no earlier than 45 minutes before scheduled game time. 7.4 Any player arriving later than 15 minutes before scheduled game time will automatically become a sticker unless they are participants of the previous game and is eligible to play up for the following game. Player s weight can then be noted from the previous weigh in on current weigh in sheet. 7.5 Stickered Players: 7.5.1 Players with stickers may kick off but are not allowed to punt. 7.5.2 A stickered player cannot run the ball on offense. As soon as a stickered player has possession of the ball, the play is dead, and the ball is downed at the point of possession. 7.5.3 A stickered player is considered an ineligible receiver on offense and can only be used as a blocker, including being used as a blocker in the backfield. 7.5.4 On defense and special teams any player may run the ball, however, the front five players on the kick-off receiving team must be stickered players. SECTION 8: COACHES 8.1 A maximum of six coaches with RDYFA badges will be allowed on the sidelines during each game. It is the responsibility of each coordinator to enforce this rule. 8.2 If a team has more than six coaches on the sideline, the coordinator from the opposing team will give the other coordinator and head coach one (1) warning. If the additional coach(s) remains on the sideline, the team will be subjected to forfeit the game. 8.3 Two coaches will be allowed on the field, at all times, during each 2 nd grade, but only one coach will be allowed on the field during 3 rd grade games when on offensive. Once the huddle is broke, coaches are to move outside of the hash mark and behind the deepest player on their side of the ball. 8.4 If any coach walks off the field with his team in protest, the game will automatically be forfeited, and the game will not be rescheduled. 8.5 If a coach walks out on the field during the game, he will be ejected from the game if he doesn t leave when told. If a parent is on the field, the game is subject to forfeit. 8.6 Coaches are allowed the use of headsets. 8.7 Third party filming will be allowed. 5
SECTION 9: OFFICIALS 9.1 Each official will be required to read all by-laws of our organization prior to officiating and being compensated by our league. 9.2 The referee coordinator must attend the August meeting and be prepared to give any rule change updates made from the July OSSAA meeting and attend any meetings requested by the League President. 9.3 Tackle football games will have four officials per game. If any game does not have the required number of officials, the coordinator needs to contact the Referee Coordinator. 9.4 Officials are paid $35.00 per game officiated. 9.4.1 Any official that shows up late due to unforeseen circumstances will be paid ½ of the full amount so long as they arrive prior to the start of the 3 rd quarter, otherwise they will not be paid for that game. 9.4.2 If in the event one of the four officials does not show up at all the remaining three officials will each be paid an additional $5.00 per game for each game officiated by them. 9.5 The Referee Coordinator will provide the league president a listing of all the officials assigned for each game scheduled to be played on Wednesday prior to the week end games. The Referee Coordinator will also instruct the officials to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to kickoff. 9.6 The Head Official, on the field, has discretion to hold or call a game due to unfavorable weather conditions. The Home town coordinators have final authority over the use of their field. 9.7 The Head Official must wear a white hat and/or designate to the coaches prior to the coin toss who the head official will be should a white hat not be in use. 9.8 All complaints regarding officials must be filed with the League President by the end of the Monday immediately following the game that was played. SECTION 10: CLOCK & CHAINS 10.1 Home towns are responsible for assigning adults to operate the clock and provide a person to announce the game. 10.2 IMPROPER CLOCK OPERATIONS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. If this problem arises, the officials on the field will keep the time. 10.3 The head official is responsible for starting and stopping the clock. 10.4 Hot Clock will be the standard during the second half of every game whereby one team is down by more than 30 points. 10.5 The home team is responsible for assigning three people to keep the field chains and down marker. Responsible high school students may be used for field chains. 6
10.6 Persons running the chains cannot interact with the visiting players or coaches. If this happens, the coordinator on duty will be asked to replace that member chain gang. 10.7 Persons running the chains cannot use electronic devices while doing so. If this happens, the coordinator on duty will be asked to replace that member chain gang. SECTION 11: EQUIPMENT & SAFETY 11.1 The official football size for 2nd thru 5 th grade will be K2 balls, or the equivalent of pee-wee sized football. If it doesn t say K2, or pee-wee size, it will not be used in a game. The 6 th grade will use the TDJ balls, or the equivalent of junior sized footballs. 11.2 Padded goal posts and safety stickers on helmets are for the protection and the safety of the players. If for any reason these requirements are not fulfilled, the game will not be played. 11.3 No jewelry of any kind is allowed. If the player is asked to remove the jewelry and he refuses, the coach will be issued a flag for un-sportsman like conduct. This could also result in the ejection of the player. Medical necklaces & bracelets can be worn but must be taped down. A wristband must then cover the bracelets. 11.4 All players must wear mouthpieces visible to the referee. They cannot be cut down. As of 2007, all mouthpieces MUST be colored. Players can no longer wear clear or white mouthpieces. SECTION 12: GENERAL RULES 12.1 Three time-outs per half. Head coaches can call time-outs from the sidelines. All coaches can be in the huddle outside the hash lines. Only one coach is allowed in the huddle for time-outs out on the field inside the hash lines. 12.2 If a game goes into overtime, the ball will be placed on the 10-yard line for the first three overtimes. After the 3 rd overtime the ball will be placed on the 5-yard line. All governing overtime rules of high school football will apply. 12.3 Extra points: 2 points will be given for passing or running in the ball and 1 point for kicking a field goal. 12.4 RDYFA will utilize a 35 second play clock. 12.5 High school rules are used unless otherwise stated in the RDYFA rules. 12.6 No punting in 2 nd and 3 rd grade games: 4 th down option is going for it or automatic punt (20 yards and give up possession.) 12.7 2 nd Grade Tackle Football Rules: 12.7.1 These rules are in conjunction with the 3 rd -6 th grade rules. 12.7.2 6-minute standard clock. Not a continuous clock. 12.7.3 No kick-offs. Possessions will start on the 40-yard line. 12.7.4 No Punting. 4 th down option is going for it or automatic punt (20 yards and give up possession.) 12.7.5 All defensive linemen from tackle to tackle must be in a 3-point stance. 7
12.7.6 No blitzing from inside guard gap to the inside of the other gap. 12.7.6.1 This rule is needed to ensure that the quarterback/center exchange is executed. 12.7.6.2 No defensive linemen inside of Guards shoulders. (No true gap or Nose Guard). 12.7.6.3 Interior defensive lineman must lineup heads up or on the outside eye off the offensive guard and cannot penetrate through the A gap. 12.7.6.4 If the defensive lineman makes legitimate contact with the offensive guard and is forced into the A gap, then penetration will be allowed through the A gap. 12.7.6.5 The offensive line must maintain reasonable splits between the center and each guard, not to take an unfair advantage of this rule. 12.7.6.6 The Center shall be able to touch the shoulder pads of each guard. 12.7.6.7 Middle linebackers must be 3-yard minimum from LOS until the ball is snapped. 12.7.6.8 Middle linebacker can rush the QB from this position up the middle if he does not blitz until after the ball is snapped. 12.7.7 If the quarter back is 3 yards deep in a shot-gun formation, then he is considered a running back. 12.7.7.1 A QB in the shot-gun formation can run the ball up the middle. 12.7.7.2 This could be considered a QB sneak but if he is in the shot-gun formation (3 yards from line of scrimmage) it is allowed. 12.8 Only the head coach of team can protest a game. To protest, the coach must pay the coordinator on duty $100, however, all games play, even under protest. Failure to play constitutes forfeiture. Resolution will be decided by Wednesday, of the following week, when both coordinators and the President/Vice President can arrange to meet. If the protest is decided in favor of the coach who lodged it, the $100 will be returned. If not, the $100 will be deposited in the general RDYFA account. SECTION 13: PLAY-OFF GAMES 13.1 Officials: 13.1.1 Playoff games are $40.00 per official (4) per game. 13.2 Play-offs will be a straight bracketed playoff of the top eight teams over three weeks. The (1) seed will play the (8) seed, (2) seed against the (7) seed, and so on. 13.2.1 In the event of a tie, the seating tie-breaker for play-offs will be based upon head to head play; 13.2.2 If this doesn t satisfy the tie, then the 15-point rule as established by OSSAA rulings will be used. 13.3 Playoff games will be held on the next Saturday following the last game of the regular season. The Championship games will be played on the next Saturday following the playoff games. Times & locations will be announced. Dates are also subject to change due to weather conditions. 13.4 Each playoff location will be responsible for concession and gate and will keep the monetary profit for their town organization. SECTION 14: DISCIPLINARY ACTION 8
14.1 Any ejections or suspensions occurring at an RDYFA event must be reported to the League President and the Referee Coordinator no later than the Monday following the game. To file a formal complaint, a written or email description of what occurred must be received within five days after the event. 14.1.1 If the official ejects a coach and/or player from the game, written or emailed statements need to be received from the official, coach and coordinator by Tuesday following the game. A warning from the official, prior to an ejection taking place, is requested by the RDYFA. 14.2 Disciplinary actions will be dealt with by the officers and board members except for the towns involved in the dispute. Any action taken will be handled by a majority vote among the board members only. 14.3 Any player ejected from a game becomes at that point an ineligible player for the remainder of the game, and for the following game. The player is also no longer allowed on the sidelines. 14.4 If a coach gets ejected, the coordinator must escort him off the premises. If the coach does not leave, the police will be called, and the coach will then be escorted off the premises. The coach will also be suspended for the following game. If the coach does not abide by this rule, the coach will no longer be able to coach for the RDYFA. 14.5 If a coach and/or coaches, player and/or players of a team participates in a game in any manner while being ineligible, the team will be penalized a game. If a coach willingly plays an ineligible player, the coach will lose their rights to coach for the RDYFA and that team will forfeit that game. 14.6 The league secretary will send official notices to the town coordinators involved informing them of any suspended coaches or players from any games. Both coordinators are required to show these notices to the officials prior to the start of the game. 14.7 If a coach is ejected twice during the season, they will no longer be able to coach for the RDFA. SECTION 15: ENACTION These Bylaws were voted as the Official Bylaws of the RDYFA on the 11th day of March 2018. President, and Vice-President, 9