ARTICLE 11.If a scrimmage kick untouched by Team B after crossing the neutral zone is batted in Team B’s end zone by a player of Team A, it is a violation for illegal touching (Rule 6-3-2). The spot of the violation is Team B’s 20-yard line. This is a special case of batting in the end zone and is not a foul.
Approved Ruling 6-3-11 I. Team A snaps at the 50-yard line and punts. The kick is untouched beyond the neutral zone when A88 reaches across Team B’s goal line and bats Rule 6 / kicks FI-35 the ball back into the field of play, and it rolls out of bounds at the B-4. RULING: No foul for batting the ball in the end zone. Illegal touching. The spot of the violation is the B-20. Team B’s ball, first and 10 at the B-20.
Approved Ruling 6-3-11 II. Team A snaps at the 50-yard line and punts. The kick is untouched beyond the neutral zone when A88 reaches across Team B’s goal line and bats the ball back into the field of play. B22 recovers at the B-2 and advances to the B-12 where A66 tackles him by pulling his facemask. RULING: No foul for batting in the end zone. Illegal touching. Team B may accept the penalty for the facemask foul, which cancels the illegal touching privilege, and have first and 10 at the B-27.
Approved Ruling 6-3-11 III. Team A snaps at the 50-yard line and punts. The kick is untouched beyond the neutral zone when A88 reaches across Team B’s goal line and bats the ball back into the field of play. B22 muffs the ball at the B-2 and A43 recovers it at the B-6. While the ball is loose B77 holds A21 at the B-10. RULING: Team A may cancel the illegal touching privilege by accepting the holding penalty, which is enforced at the previous spot with an automatic first down. Post-scrimmage kick rules do not apply to B77’s foul since Team B will not next put the ball in play (Rule 10-2-3).
Approved Ruling 6-3-11 IV. Team A snaps at the 50-yard line and punts. During the kick, B77 clips at Team B’s 25-yard line. The untouched kick is batted backward by Team A out of bounds from the end zone and goes out of bounds on the two-yard line. RULING: No foul for batting the ball in the end zone. Illegal touching. B77’s clipping foul is governed by post-scrimmage kick rules (Rule 10-2-3). Team A will accept the penalty, which cancels the illegal touching privilege. The penalty is enforced at the post-scrimmage kick spot, the B-20, half the distance to the goal. Team B’s ball at the B-10.
Approved Ruling 6-3-11 V. Team A snaps at the 50-yard line and punts. The kick is untouched beyond the neutral zone when A88 reaches across Team B’s goal line and bats the ball back into the field of play, and it rolls out of bounds at the B-4. During the kick, A55 blocks below the waist. RULING: No foul for batting the ball in the end zone. Illegal touching. The spot of the violation is the B-20. Team B may accept the penalty for blocking below the waist, which is enforced either at the previous spot with the down repeated or at the B-4. If Team B declines the penalty, the illegal touching gives the ball to Team B, first and 10 at the B-20.
Approved Ruling 2-12-2 I. Team A’s untouched scrimmage kick strikes the ground in the field of play and breaks the plane of Team B’s goal line. While the ball is in the air over the end zone, A81, who is either on the one-yard line or in the end zone, bats the ball into the field of play. RULING: Violation for illegal touching (Rule 6-3-11). Team B may accept the result of the play or next snap the ball at its 20-yard line (Exception:Rule 8-4-2b).
