Football Officiating > National Federation Discussion
Pushing the Pile
dch:
Pushing the pile to help advance the runner has become a common occurrence. It is almost always allowed in the Pros, College, and high school.
Can we discuss just the NFHS rules and clarify what is allowed and what is illegal?
Rule 9.1 “An offensive player shall not push, pull or lift the runner to assist his forward progress.” That seems pretty clear and straight forward.
Rule 9.3.5 “A player shall not block an opponent in the back…. (with a couple of exceptions)”
And, of course, there are also restrictions against Targeting and Blindside blocks that may come in to play in these “group tackling situations”
I can envision trying to “knock-off” a tackler as long as the offensive player does not block in the back or Target the opponent. But I don’t understand why forceful contact (blindside or in the back) is allowed because it is “just pushing the pile”.
Why is this situation so prevalent and should we allow it in our high school games?
CalhounLJ:
In my experience, the forceful contact in the back has been between teammates. Which is not a foul. As far as pushing the runner, I guess it’s judgment as to whether the guilty party is pushing the runner or pushing the guy attached to the runner.
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CalhounLJ:
As a fan, I’ve always wanted it called when my team was on defense, but never when my team was on offense. So I don’t know what to think about that.
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AlUpstateNY:
--- Quote from: CalhounLJ on December 06, 2021, 03:13:45 PM ---As a fan, I’ve always wanted it called when my team was on defense, but never when my team was on offense. So I don’t know what to think about that.
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--- End quote ---
Just a thought, but expanding NFHS:2-15-1 to specify, "BY THE RUNNER" to the current wording, "Forward progress is the end of advancement (BY THE RUNNER) towards the opponent's goal, in the runners possession....." might eliminate a lot of the argument. By simply declaring the play over and ball dead, at the spot when the runner's advancement ends might also eliminate a lot of potential for argument/dispute about fumbles AFTER the pile pushing begins.
CalhounLJ:
The fumbles or takeaways in the pile have always been concerning to me, especially if or when the pile starts moving backward. Certainly forward progress can and should come into play.
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