League Rules
SECTION I -- PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
Item 1To participate in the Flag Division, players must be in Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade;; to participate in the Junior Division, players must be in the 2md, 3rd or 4th grade; to participate in the Senior Division, players must be in the 5th or 6th grade. Players must be under 13 years old prior to November 1st to participate in the league.
Item 2A player shall have a minimum of three (3) contact practices at the beginning of the season before participating in a game.
Item 3All players in the Junior and Senior Divisions must have a physical prior to the first league practice.
Item 4For each game, each player on the team roster must be assigned to either an offensive or defensive unit and remain on that unit for an entire half unless an injury occurs. The assigned units must enter the game intact at each change of possession of the ball. The assigned units shall remain in the game until a change in possession of the ball occurs. Coaches may make substitutions under special circumstances, but the spirit of the rule is to ensure each child gets equal playing time. Players may be reassigned to different units at halftime. Special teams do not count as offense or defense. The penalty for improper substitutions will be unsportsmanlike conduct.
Item 5Any player who has missed more than six (6) consecutive activities, i.e., practices or games for any reason, must have a minimum of two (2) contact practices before participating in a game. Players are not to be penalized for missing practices. Players can not be held responsible for their transportation to practices or games; therefore, if they meet the above mentioned requirements, all players must play in all games.
Item 6Any player whose actions may be deemed hazardous to the safety of him or others, may be ruled on by the Director as to whether he may continue participating. The PAAL Board will act upon any appeals.
Item 7So as to minimize the possibility of injury, any player weighing more than, 95 pounds in the Junior Division and 110 pounds in the Senior Division will be restricted from advancing the ball. These players will be required to wear a single stripe down the middle of their helmet. These players may:
- Catch a legal forward pass
- Intercept a forward pass
- Recover a fumble
- Participate as Quarterback under the following conditions:
-They report to the officials at the beginning of each offensive series
-They do not advance the ball past the line of scrimmage
-The ball will be blown dead in the above instances and when the striped quarterback advances the ball past the line of scrimmage.
-They receive a direct snap from center
-At no time can a striper be lined up as a running back
Item 8Any player weighing more than 150 pounds in either the Junior or Senior Division, will be restricted from playing any other position than Interior Line or Defensive Line. These players will be required to wear a double stripe down the middle of their helmet.
SECTION II -- EQUIPMENT
Item 1All helmets and face guards are NOCSAE approved. Shields must be clear.
Item 2All players must be equipped with a mouth piece which is to be in the player’s mouth when the ball is in play. (IHSAA Rules).
Item 3All players must wear the essential equipment:
- NOCSAE approved shoulder pads
- All padding protection for the lower extremities (knee pads, thigh pads, hip pads, and tail bone pad)
- Cup protector is strongly recommended, but not required
- Adding padding such as elbow, neck braces and forearm pads are acceptable
Item 4The following shoes will be allowed:
- Soccer shoes with rubber or plastic cleats
- Baseball shoes with rubber or plastic cleats
- Tennis Shoes or Sneakers
Item 5Footballs
- Senior Division, Wilson TDJ
- Junior Division Wilson K-2
SECTION III -- FIELD
Item 1All fields will be properly marked
Item 2Field of play -- 100 yards
- Receiving line will be marked at the 50-yard line
- Ball will be kicked from the 40-yard line
- Ball will be spotted on the hash lines or the middle of the field
Item 3Games suspended for thirty (30) minutes or less will be resumed at the stoppage point. Games suspended for more than thirty (30) minutes may or may not be rescheduled.
SECTION IV -- TIMING
Item 1Minutes running time per quarter will be kept by the official scorekeeper, 12 minutes per quarter.
Item 2Clock stops for: requested time outs and Officials time out.
Item 3I.S.H.A.A. rules apply to the final 2 minutes of play in each half. Official will give a 2-minute warning. The offensive team will be allowed 40 seconds to snap the ball after the ball is declared ready to play.
Item 4Penalty -- Loss of down except during a punting down or an extra point, a five (5) yard penalty will be assessed in these situations.
Item 5Each team will be allowed 2 time outs per half, each time out lasting 1 minute.
Item 6Half-time is 6 minutes plus 3 minute warm up time.
SECTION V -- PENALTIES
Item 1Major penalty will be assessed ten (10) yards.
Item 2Minor penalty will be assessed five (5) yards.
SECTION VI -- COACH
Item 1One coach from each team will be allowed on the field at all times.
Item 2Once the offensive team begins its cadence, coaches shall cease directing their players until the play is blown dead and coaches remaining on the field will position themselves so they do not impact play, at least ten (10) yards behind players. This applies to mites, juniors and seniors.
Item 3Head coaches shall be responsible for:
- Action of coaching staff
- Action of players
- Action of parents
Item 4Each team should devote at least five (5) minutes of every practice sessions to promote the merits of good scholarship, citizenship, classroom conduct and teamwork at home as well as on the football field. Youths are to be encouraged to confide in the parents and coaches if and when they are having scholastic problems and are to be excused from practice, with no penalty attached, until such problems are remedied to parental satisfaction.
Item 5Verbal or physical abuse of players or referees is not to be tolerated regardless of circumstances. Cursing on part of, or in the presence of team members is strictly forbidden.
Item 6Coaches and players, after each game, are responsible for cleaning the grounds.
Item 7All junior and senior coaches may have only one (1) assistant coach prior to the draft.
Item 8Each coach will be responsible for the actions of his players, assistants and player’s parents.
Item 9Coaches are responsible for communicating league information to their teams.
Item 10The coaches are responsible for assigned players properly entering and leaving the game.
Item 11The physical violence by a coach toward anyone will result in suspension for the remainder of the season in any capacity.
SECTION VII -- WEIGH-IN PROCEDURE
Item 1All participants will be weighed in at registration. This will be considered the official playing weight.
Item 2If there is a dispute pertaining to weight then the participant will be weighed again.
Item 3All players exceeding the weight limit shall have their helmets marked front and back (approximately 2” wide 6” long tape). Players weighing 150 pounds or more will have two (2) stripes.
Item 4A player exceeding the weight limit may play any position on defense, but in the event of possession of the ball is gained by such players, the ball is to be blown dead immediately. A penalty of five (5) yards will be assessed for advancing ball at referee’s discretion.
SECTION VIII -- PRACTICES
Item 1Practices will not exceed more than two (2) days per week. The only exception is the first two weeks of practice, in which teams may practice every weekday night, Monday through Thursday for a period of time not exceeding two hours.
Item 2Practices will not exceed 2 hours.
Item 3All practices will be at the PAAL football complex.
SECTION IX -- MISCONDUCT AND PROTEST
Section 1A rule infraction committee made up of the Columbus Police Athletic Activities League board shall review and decide on any misconduct and protest.
Section 2You have 72 hours from time of infraction to put in writing your protest and be mailed to the league Director.
Section 3A determination of the truth of falsity of the charges and the appropriate discipline shall be made by majority vote of the Board of Directors.
Section 4Discipline may be a verbal warning, game suspension, or suspension from the league.
SECTION X -- TIE BREAKERS
Section 1To determine team standings and break ties concerning team standings, the following procedure will be used.
Two teams
- Won and lost record
- Head to head competition
Three or more teams
- Won and lost record
- Head to head competition
Section 2In the event of a tie, there will be a coin toss to determine who will receive the ball. IHSAA rules will govern tie-breakers.
Section 3At the conclusion of the regular season, a single-elimination tournament will be held for Junior and Senior divisions. Won-Loss records will determine seeding. Ties will be broken using head to head results. If this does not break the tie, points allowed will be the deciding factor.
SECTION XI -- PUNTS
Item 1The defense may not rush during the punt.
Item 2The offense tem will declare their intent prior to the snap for each 4th down play.
Item 3The defensive team must have at least five (5) players on the line of scrimmage for each punt.
Item 4Players may not leave their positions until the ball has been kicked.
Item 5The offense and defense will line up in their set position, the kicker will be given the ball from the official (no snap) where he will kick the ball on the official’s signal. The punter will be required to stay within the tackles and at a minimum of 6 yards from the line of scrimmage. The defense may not rush the kicker.
SECTION XII -- SCORING
Item 1Extra points count one (1) point running from the three (3) yard line, two (2) points from the five (5) yard line, kicking over crossbar from the three (3) yard line.
Item 2Field goals count three (3) points, defense may not rush kicker.
Item 3The offense must declare a try for a field goal or a kick for an extra point. Once declared, the offense and defense line up in their set positions. The ball will be placed on the ground next to the holder. On the official’s whistle, the holder must pick up the ball and place it on the tee for the kicker to attempt to kick. On the same whistle, the defense may rush - adhering to all other rules regarding the rush (not lining up directly over the center).
Field goals will be allowed in overtime.
Junior and Senior Rules
Defense:
We allow the 5 most common defenses in this league. They include: 4-3, 3-4, 4-4, 5-2, and 5-3.
Offense:
You must have 3 backs within the tackles. One of the backs is the quarterback. You can run I, power I, wishbone, stacked, etc., as long as there is a minimum of 1 QB and 2 RB’s within the tackles. Shotgun is allowed.
Offensive Line: Standard formations with no more than 2 foot splits
Formations: We can have a tight end and flanker to one side and a split end or tight end to the other side. Or, we could have a split end and have a flanker move over and become a slot receiver. Keep in mind, the offensive tackle cannot be the last guy on the line of scrimmage and if you have a tight end the flanker must be 1 yard off the line of scrimmage. You could choose to move the flanker to a wing back or power I back as well. The backfield can be power I, wishbone, split backs, stacked, etc. as long as you have 3 backs within the tackles. NOTE: the tight end must be on the line of scrimmage.
MOTION: WIDE RECIEVERS OR BACKS CAN GO IN MOTION, BUT ONE AT A TIME (NO DOUBLE MOTION)
Unless otherwise outlined above, all other rulings by officials are based on the NFHS Rules