NFHS Fall sports questionnaire up on the website.

[TampaSteve]

All this talk of 15-minute halftimes is going to get us in trouble with the BAND PEOPLE!

that's an item round here that really wont affect things.  I think I had 2 games this yr where both bands performed @halftime.  I suppose due to travel expenses, schools are not having their band travel.
Plus, I've seen ECO and/or R starting the halftime clock before the field is cleared too. - which buys extra min or 2.

[Rulesman]

All this talk of 15-minute halftimes is going to get us in trouble with the BAND PEOPLE!

In my area, if some of the band people had their way there would be 22-25 minute halftime breaks. I'm serious when I say that! There's a mentality there that they are the show, rather than the show within the show.

[maven]

In my area, if some of the band people had their way there would be 22-25 minute halftime breaks. I'm serious when I say that! There's a mentality there that they are the show, rather than the show within the show.

Why should a silly game get 120 minutes and the band only 20?

[Atlanta Blue]

Plus, I've seen ECO and/or R starting the halftime clock before the field is cleared too. - which buys extra min or 2.

We have the opposite, which is why from the last play of the first half until kickoff, it's closer to 25 minutes.

And we don't have a marching band, so in our games, there are NEVER two bands performing!  But the cheerleaders wil sometimes do a halftime routine.  Thankfully, these rarely last more than 4 minutes.

Normally, bu the time the halftime clock hits 10:00, I have a clear field to warm up kickers.

[HLinNC]

Ok, how about this, return to the old timing rules- clock starts on the RFP on a change of possession not involving a kick.  Minor, sure, but would knock some time down.

I don't have specific data but I know most of my games  ended somewhere around 9:50 - 10:00pm (7:30 standard kickoff time here) this year with a couple close to 10:30 with no OT.  When I started varsity 14 years ago, most games were over by 9:30, 9:40 latest.

Very few schools take the full 20 minute halftime except at homecoming.  Usual here is 15 + 3 or 17 +3.

The killer is JV offenses passing for four quarters with most conference games wanting to play 12:00 quarters too.

[Magician]

We had a 1:57 game in round 2 of the playoffs. The first quarter took 15 minutes1.

[Rulesman]

We had a 1:57 game in round 2 of the playoffs. The first quarter took 15 minutes1.

Magic!

[TampaSteve]

In my area, if some of the band people had their way there would be 22-25 minute halftime breaks. I'm serious when I say that! There's a mentality there that they are the show, rather than the show within the show.

Well, the real high-level band competitions allow for shows between 7 - 11min.  (thus 11x2 = 22 + 3min transition from A-band to B-band)
OK, OK, here's how I know: my wife's nephew is in the Ia State band. - so yours truely asked about whether there are any show length criteria...   

[LS4a]

I tallied up the times for my games this year. I had 16 total varsity games. The quickest was 1:51 and the longest was 2:45. The average was 2:20.

We don't have a codified mercy rule but we do use some version running clock in most lopsided games. I had a lot of those this year.

We have lots of pass oriented attacks. I don't see them as slowing down the game that much. In general, teams that can't pass don't pass. When they try anyway it's usually because the other team is way ahead. Around here, the other team is usually trying to run the clock at that point so it sort of evens out.

[HLinNC]

One other factor, at least in this area, that leads to longer games- talent imbalance.
My longest game this season was a 70-33 scorefest in which the BJ called the visiting, winning, team three times for encroachment on kickoffs.

HC looks at me after the third one and says "Does he know how long its gonna take for us to get home tonight?"
Me- "Coach, try to stop scoring and then we won't have to keep kicking off "

[TampaSteve]

One other factor, at least in this area, that leads to longer games- talent imbalance.
My longest game this season was a 70-33 scorefest in which the BJ called the visiting, winning, team three times for encroachment on kickoffs.

HC looks at me after the third one and says "Does he know how long its gonna take for us to get home tonight?"
Me- "Coach, try to stop scoring and then we won't have to keep kicking off "

stop scoring? - how bout play a little defense too?   
I would agree that with schools opening just about every yr round here that talent depth is reduced.

[HLinNC]

how bout play a little defense too?

That would have really required hollering over to the other sideline which would be  most frowned upon.

[TampaSteve]

That would have really required hollering over to the other sideline which would be  most frowned upon.

with team X @70 pt & team Y @33 pt, seems appropriate for either sideline.   

[TampaSteve]

After all FL state champ complete, avg game elapsed time: 2:49.
That's 2:49 with no TV timeouts, commercials, etc.
So we have a 48 min game that is 25% less game clock than a 60-min game. 
Figure it should take about 25% less, real time to contest the game, right?
Yet it's taking only 16% less (2:49 v. 3:15 for NFL) time?
Seems, with this certanly very small random sampling, that perhaps a consideration for NFHS to look at NCAA timing when it relates to plays going OOB & start the clock on the ready.
 

[Atlanta Blue]

Our 12 games this year, the average game time is 2:21.  We averaged 20 passes a game, our opponents, 18.  And our halftimes are 23 minutes, which is part of that game time.  We had only one game all year that was more than your average of 2:48.

This isn't a problem in most places.  I can tell you coaches would be VEHEMENTLY opposed to changing the timimg rules.  Given their representation on most rules committees, I don't see it happening.  The compromise might be to go to NCAA timing rules with 15 minute quarters, not 12.

Cut halftime to 15 minutes.  Eliminate the completely useless mandatory three minute warmup at halftime.

[TampaSteve]

Our 12 games this year, the average game time is 2:21.  We averaged 20 passes a game, our opponents, 18.  And our halftimes are 23 minutes, which is part of that game time.  We had only one game all year that was more than your average of 2:48.

This isn't a problem in most places.  I can tell you coaches would be VEHEMENTLY opposed to changing the timimg rules.  Given their representation on most rules committees, I don't see it happening.  The compromise might be to go to NCAA timing rules with 15 minute quarters, not 12.

Cut halftime to 15 minutes.  Eliminate the completely useless mandatory three minute warmup at halftime.

But we play better football here.     pun

[Atlanta Blue]

But we play better football here.     pun

Slower, not better!   

[TampaSteve]

Slower, not better!   

...or maybe yall complete more passes.      

[Atlanta Blue]

...or maybe yall complete more passes.   

For us, that may have been true in some years.  Unfortunately, this year was not one of them.

[Rulesman]

...or maybe yall complete more passes.   

There's a lot of truth to the number of incomplete passes that perpetuate the problem.