I'm just waking up from a high school baseball hibernation, but why wouldn't the succeeding spot -after touchback - with new series B at A's 30 ?? Why aren't the Red Sox in first place ?? Will there be another duck parade if the Bruins are blessed by Lord Stanley ?? Will they catch Big Papi's shooter ??
Anytime the ball crosses the GL into the EZ, the force that put the ball in the EZ determines the outcome of the play. In the OP, it was A35's illegal kick on the b-4 of a grounded fumble that forced the ball across the GL. A35 is responsible for the ball being in the EZ per the definition of force (2-13-1).
I do not think the "rule change" (
new wording) of the momentum exception implies that a ball originally in the EZ from the mo-exception is still considered "in the EZ" if it leaves and comes back into the EZ.
8-5-2 Exception ... When a defensive player intercepts an opponent's forward pass; intercepts or recovers an opponent's fumble or backward pass; or an R player catches or recovers a scrimmage kick or free kick between his 5-yard line and the goal line, and his original momentum carries him into the end zone where the ball
remains in the end zone and is declared dead
in the end zone in his team's possession or it goes out of bounds in the end zone, the ball belongs to the team in possession at the spot where the pass or fumble was intercepted or recovered or the kick was caught or recovered.
I do not have the 2019 Case Book to see if there is a case play for this situation. If it is the intent to allow the OP to keep the "monument status", I would suggest the NFHS review the definition of the word "remain."
