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BATTLE FOR THE CROWN 7v7 RULES

Field Dimensions

  • Field Length will be 50 yards. 40-yard playing field with a 10-yard end zone.


Starting Each Game

    • A coin toss will determine which team gets the ball first. That team will begin possession of the ball on the 40-yard line with their choice of hash

    • A whistle will begin each game

    • Each game lasts 20 minutes with a running clock (NO OVERTIME in Pool Play)

    • All games will start and end on the same main horn.

    • The official will declare when the clock is under 2 minutes

    • The clock never stops, with the exception of a referee timeout

    • A whistle and/or horn will end each game

    • The referees will keep the official score on the field for each game

    • Soft Helmets must be worn at all times by all players except the QB. If a player does not have a helmet they cannot participate until they do. If a QB goes out for a pass on a trick play and does not have a helmet then there will be an Unsportsmanlike penalty assessed and loss of down.

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Moving the Ball

    • Offense always starts on 40-yard line with their choice of the hash. After any change of possession

    • All snaps at the 40-yard line must be off the QB-TEE (No Shotgun). Upon gaining a yard or more, QB may take a shotgun off QB-TEE

    • Offense has three (3) downs to gain a first down. First down markers will be at the 25, and 10-yard lines

    • Once inside the 10-yard line, the offense has 3 downs to score a touchdown

    • The first person to control the football off the QB-Tee is the QB. The QB is never eligible to run

    • The offense may run the ball as many times as they want on any down during the game; with the exception of overtime. The QB is allowed to make one exchange (ex. Pass, handoff or toss). No toss passes, reverses or hook and ladder

    • Defensive players cannot cross the line on a run play until the quarterback hands the ball off to the RB

    • Quarterback can NEVER run the ball

    • After the offense scores a touchdown, they have the option of going for 1 point from the 5-yard line, or go for 2 points from the 10-yard line. Offense chooses hash for ball placement.  If the coach doesn’t respond to the official on which yard-line, the official will place the ball on the 5-yard line to go for 1 point.  Once this decision is made, coaches cannot overturn this decision

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Coaching your Team

    • There will be one offensive coach allowed on the field at any time

    • The coach must be positioned behind the offensive huddle

    • Coaches are not allowed to challenge any official ruling

    • Remaining team coaches can work from the sidelines

    • NO defensive coaches allowed on the field

    • Coaches will be given 1 sideline warning during play. Second warning will result in an unsportsmanlike penalty or half the distance to the goal. Third warning will result in coach’s ejection

    • Any form of cheating qualifies for automatic team disqualification at the tournament!

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Special Rules

    • ONE BLITZ PER GAME IS ALLOWED – (NO BLITZING FROM THE 40 YD LINE). Multiple players can blitz at one time from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage. If a team has already used their ONE blitz, any blitz thereafter will be penalized (un-sportsman penalty) and the offense will get an automatic first down. 

    • All non participating players must be on the sideline.

      • NO ADDITIONAL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS BEHIND THE QUARTERBACK! (Unsportsmanlike Penalty on second offense)

    • Players can not setup on the field until the possession is complete

    • COACHES CAN NOT SNAP THE BALL! (Unsportsmanlike Penalty)

    • If a team scores a touchdown with no time remaining on the clock, and they are down by 2 points or less, they get to attempt their extra point(s)

    • NO blocking – Blocking will result in a loss of down, return to the previous spot

    • Face guarding is allowed

    • Ball carrier is legally down when touched below the neck with one hand or the ball carrier’s elbow/knee, or the football touches the ground. A defender CAN leave his feet to make a tag. The offensive player can leave his feet also

    • Fumbles (Including snap) are dead balls at the spot with the last team in control retaining possession at the spot

    • Offensive team will have 25 seconds to put the ball into play. Delay of game is a loss of down

    • The offensive team is responsible for retrieving and returning the ball to the official. The clock does not stop, and any delay of the offense in retrieving and returning the ball to the official will result in delay of game

    • QB is allowed 4.0 seconds to throw the ball. Referees will stop play if 4.0 seconds is surpassed, which will result in a loss of down

    • An interception will result in an immediate stoppage of play and a change of possession with the interception team gaining possession at the 30-yard line. If an un-sportsman penalty is given to the interception team, they will be penalized 10 yards and will start from the 40-yard line

    • Celebrations are allowed. However taunting and/or touching another player is not allowed and will not be tolerated.  If a team is penalized for excessively celebrating or clearing of the sideline, the result is an unsportsmanlike penalty.

    • A game cannot end on a defensive penalty. If this occurs, the offense will have an untimed down if time has expired

    • The offense (wide receivers) has to line up outside the tackle box, and one receiver has to be on the line on each side.  If not, the offense will be penalized illegal formation and a loss of down

    • Fighting will not be tolerated. If a player throws a punch, he is ejected immediately and CANNOT return to the game. If players are involved in pushing or shoving, they may be ejected immediately from the game at the referees’ discretion. If a second incident occurs with the same player(s), they will be ejected from the tournament in its entirety. If a team’s bench clears, resulting in a fight, both of the teams are ejected, resulting in a forfeit. The referee has the right to throw out any player, players, or team out of the game. The BFC staff has the right in extreme cases to eject players, coaches, teams, and by-standers of any tournament and they will have to leave the facility immediately. A referee can also give a unsportsmanlike penalty

    • Event staff will NOT overturn a referee’s call!

    • Players can NOT play on two teams within the same age division and can not play for two different programs at this event.

    • Only rostered players will be allowed to participate.

 

​QB Special Rules​

  • ​QB can NOT run past the line of scrimmage as the first person to touch the ball.

  • If the QB legally becomes an eligible receiver then he must have on a soft-shell helmet during the play. Otherwise it is an unsportsmanlike penalty.

  • QB must take snap from Tee or shotgun snap from kneeling player. NO COACHES ALLOWED TO SNAP.

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MEDIA Rules

    • No outside media on the field of play. All video/camera work must be done from the Endzone or on the sideline.​

    • Video/Camera men are NOT allowed behind the QB.

    • NWBFC verified media are the only ones allowed on the field during game play

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Overtime/Tie Breaker

    • No overtime during POOL PLAY

    • Games in BRACKET PLAY (SINGLE-ELIMINATION) that end in a tie will go to a tiebreaker. There will be a coin toss at the beginning of the tiebreaker with the home team calling the toss. The winner will choose to be on either offense or defense

    • Each team will have 2 plays from the QB-tee from the 10-yard line, choice of hash. If you score, you receive the standard 6 points

    • If the offense scores, then they MUST choose to go for 1 point from the 5-yard line, or 2 points from the 10-yard line. If the coach doesn’t respond to the official on which yard-line, the official will place the ball on the 5-yard line to go for 1 point.  Once this decision is made, coaches cannot overturn this decision

    • The opposing team gets the same opportunity to win

    • If neither team scores or it still ends as a tie, we will flip the coin again then back to the standard longest passing yard from the 40-yard line. There is no running allowed in overtime situations

    • The team with the most yards will be declared the winner of the tiebreaker and will add 1 point to the final score

    • If there is no completion, or the deepest completion is equal, the longest yard tiebreaker will be repeated with the team that lost the initial coin toss making the choice to either take offense or defense.

    • This format will be repeated until a clear winner is declared

    • This tiebreaker format will be used in SINGLE-ELIMINATION GAMES ONLY.

    • NO RUNNING IN OVERTIME.  All plays MUST be a pass

    • NO BLITZING ALLOWED IN OVERTIME

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Shoot-Out Bracket Format

    • All teams will be seeded in the bracket based on Day 1 win/loss and day 1 schedule

    • All teams will play minimum of 4 games during the event, unless otherwise noted

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BRACKET SEEDING WILL BE DETERMINED BY:

  • Wins/losses, point differential, and points scored. If after these determinations there is still a tie, the system will automatically do a coin flip to determine team seeding

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POINT VALUES

    • Offensive touchdown = 6 points. After the touchdown, the team MUST elect togo for 1 point or 2 points from the 10-yard line.

    • No other points are given besides touchdowns and extra points

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PENALTIES

OFFENSE - ASSESSED - RESULT

False start/Illegal motion- Loss of Down

Delay of Game- Loss of Down

Illegal Forward Pass- Loss of Down

Blocking- Line of scrimmage- Loss of Down

Pass Interference- Loss of Down

Un-sportsmanlike- Loss of Down

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DEFENSE - ASSESSED - RESULT

Encroachment/Neutral zone- 5 yards-Repeat Down (unless the result is a 1st down)

Holding- Automatic 1st down. Ball moved to the next first down marker

Pass Interference- Automatic 1st down. Ball moved to the next first down marker

Additional Blitzing- Automatic 1st down. Ball moved to the next first down marker

Un-sportsmanlke- Automatic 1st down. Ball moved to the next first down marker

Illegal Participation- 5 yards-Repeat Down

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Penalties inside the 10 yard line- These penalties are treated as half the distance to the goal.

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AGE DIVISIONS

    • 5/6 Grade / 12U – Player must be in the current 6th grade or lower or be 12 years old or younger by July 1st. Grade/Age verification using SportsThread.

    • 7/8 Grade / 14U – Player must be in the current 8th grade or lower or be 14 years old or younger by July 1st. NO HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN ALLOWED! Grade/Age verification using SportsThread.

    • Freshman / 15U – Player must be in the current 9th grade or lower. Grade/Age verification using SportsThread.

    • High School / 18U – Player must be in the 11th grade or lower. NO SENIORS. Grade/Age verification using SportsThread.


PLEASE HELP US KEEP OUR FIELDS CLEAN; EACH TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEAN UP OF WATER BOTTLES AND TRASH ON THEIR OWN SIDELINES. THANK YOU!!!

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