Southwest Youth Football EQUIPMENT A. Helmets for all participants shall be clearly designated as noc-saf. B. No metal cleats will be allowed. C. Bright colored mouthpieces shall be attached to the helmet of each player, and be clearly visible. AGE REQUIREMENT A. Players shall be ineligible for competition if they are the below listed age on or before the 1 st day of August and are not in higher school grade: 6 th Grade - Shall not be 13 by August 1 5 th Grade - Shall not be 12 by August 1 4 th Grade - Shall not be 11 by August 1 3 rd Grade - Shall not be 10 by August 1 MISCELLANEOUS A. The Southwest Missouri Officials Association will be responsible for supplying three (3) licensed officials for each game. The home team will be responsible for paying the officials for each of their games, 2008 rate of $40.00 per official per game. B. No parent or fan shall be allowed upon the playing field. C. Parents and fans must stay behind the cable or in the stands. D. All coaches and coaching staff must be clearly identified. E. All members of the line and chain crew must be at least thirteen (13) years of age. F. Each player "must play" a minimum of four plays per half. G. Gate Fee - A Three-Dollar ($3.00) per ADULT, Two-Dollar ($2.00) per student twelve (12) years of age through High School, shall be charged to enter games. Cheerleaders, Cheerleading sponsors, Football players, Coaches and Game Officials are exempt.
H. Mercy Rule - The officials will follow a 28 point Mercy Rule. If at any point in the second half of the game, one team leads the other by 28 or more points, the officials will initiate a "running clock." I. Overtime - If a game ends in a tie, the officials will administer "Sudden Death" type overtime. The officials will conduct a coin toss to determine which team will receive the ball first. The ball will be placed on the 10 yard line and that team will have four (4) downs in which to score. After that time, the defensive team will receive the ball on the 10-yard line and will have four (4) downs in which to score. Play will continue until there is a winner. J. Each player will be required to have a doctor's physical before they will be allowed to participate. K. Sportsmanship - If at any time, a coach receives an "Unsportsman like Penalty" that coach will be ineligible to coach the following week. Two "Unsportsman like Penalties" in a season will demonstrate the inability of the coach to be a positive example to young boys and will therefore not be allowed to coach the remainder of the season. L All coaches must be Heads Up certified. SWYF 2009 Rules for 3rd & 4th Grades Updated 9/14/2014 SOUTHWEST YOUTH FOOTBALL 2009 RULES 3 RD & 4 TH GRADES The rules as promulgated by the Missouri State High School Activities Association applicable to High School Football Games shall apply at all times with the following exceptions: A. All games shall consist of four (4) eight (8) minute quarter. B. Each team shall be authorized four time outs per half. C. Each offensive team shall cause the ball to be put in play within thirty (30) seconds.
D. Defensive Line: Each team shall have a defensive line consisting of not less that five (5) nor more than six (6) men on the line of scrimmage. E. All linebackers must play a minimum of one (1) yard back, behind the down linemen. F. Only one (1) linebacker shall be allowed to blitz on any play and the linebacker may not commence the blitz unless he is one (1) yard deep behind the down linemen at the time the ball is snapped. A blitz is defined as occurring between the two defensive ends. G. Any defensive player upon the line of scrimmage must be in a down position including linebackers with the exception of the defensive end who may be in the upright position. H. No potential ball carrier or receiver may weigh over 95 lbs. for the third grade, or 105 lbs. for the fourth grade. Exception: Tight Ends may have an "X" if used as blocking ends only. Any illegal touching of the ball, other than for a fumble, will result in a 5-yard penalty & loss of down. I. All third grade players over 95 lbs. and all fourth grade players over 105 lbs. must have a an "X" on the back of the helmet, clearly distinguishing such player as a non-eligible ball carrier or receiver. These players may recover fumbles, intercept passes, and etc. but shall not be allowed to play any position normally occupied by a ball carrier or a receiver, except for blocking TE only. See Rule H. J. No player over 100 lbs. for the third grade, or 110 lbs. for the fourth grade shall be allowed on the offensive kick-off receiving team unless said player plays on the front line. K. For the third grade, two (2) coaches will be allowed on the field for each team during each individual play. For fourth grade, only one (1) coach will be allowed upon the playing field from each team during any individual play. Field coaches must remain twenty (20) yards behind the line of scrimmage and SHALL NOT TALK TO THE PLAYERS AFTER THEY BREAK THE HUDDLE. Penalties for the violation of this rule are: 1 st occurrence: Officials Warning. 2 nd occurrence: 5-yd delay of game penalty. 3 rd occurrence: Coach will be asked to leave the field. L. All punts are live and the punter may be rushed. If in the third grade, the center cannot hike the ball to the punter in one continuous motion, he may hike it to the quarterback who in turn will pitch it to the punter. Player receiving the pitch will be protected, as a punter would be. A Punter may have an "X" but may not run with or advance the ball in any way other than to punt. M. Weight limit of a ball carrying/receiving player may be challenged before the end of each game "by informing the White Hat referee". The player will be weighed and may not exceed 95 lbs. for third grade, or 105 lbs. for fourth grade. If over the limit, the team will forfeit the game, and the player will no longer be eligible to carry the ball. Each coach will notify their respective league representative of the challenge and outcome. The League representative will notify the Conference President. The Conference President will then notify all other league representatives.
N. Ball size will be the K2 or larger (leather or synthetic leather) and teams will not be allowed to change size during game. SWYF 2009 Rules for 5th and 6th Grades Updated 9/14/2014 SOUTHWEST YOUTH FOOTBALL 2009 RULES 5 th & 6 TH GRADES The rules as promulgated by the Missouri State High School Activities Association applicable to High School Football Games shall apply at all times with the following exceptions: A. All games shall consist of four (4) eight (8) minute quarters. B. Each team shall be authorized four time outs per half. C. Each offensive team shall cause the ball to be put in play within thirty (30) seconds. D. All potential ball carriers and receivers must not weigh over 115 lbs. for the fifth grade, and over 125 lbs. for the sixth grade. Exception: Tight Ends may have an "X" if used as blocking ends only. Any illegal touching of the ball, other than for a fumble, will result in a 5-yard penalty and loss of down. E. All linebackers must play a minimum of one (1) yard back, behind the down linemen. F. Any fifth grade player over 115 lbs. or any sixth grade player over 125 lbs. must have an "X" on the back of the helmet, clearly distinguishing such player as a non-eligible ball carrier or receiver. These players may recover fumbles, intercept passes, and etc. but shall not be allowed to play any position normally occupied by a ball carrier or a receiver, except for blocking TE only. See Rule D. G. No player over 115 lbs. for the fifth grade, or 125 lbs. for the sixth grade shall be allowed on the offensive kick-off receiving team unless said player plays on the front line. H. Only one (1) coach from each team will be allowed upon the playing field during any individual play. Field coaches must remain twenty (20) yards behind the line of scrimmage and SHALL NOT TALK TO THE PLAYERS AFTER THEY BREAK THE HUDDLE. Penalties for the violation of this rule are: 1 st occurrence: Officials Warning.
2 nd occurrence: 5-yd delay of game penalty. 3 rd occurrence: Coach will be asked to leave the field. I. All punts are live and the punter, who is in a ball carrying position, may be rushed. A Punter may have an "X" but may not run with or advance the ball in any way other than to punt. J. Weight limit may be challenged before the end of each game "by informing the White Hat referee". The player will be weighed and may not exceed 120 lbs. for fifth grade, or 130 lbs. for sixth grade. If over the limit, the team will forfeit the game, and the player will no longer be eligible to carry the ball. Each coach will notify their respective league representative of the challenge and outcome. The League representative will notify the Conference President. The Conference President will then notify all other league representatives. K. Ball size will be Junior or larger (leather or synthetic leather) and teams will not be allowed to change size during game.