LaxRef wrote:A1 is bringing the ball up the field and is slashed by B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7 (seven penalties: flags, hats, sunglasses, keys all over the field). A1 finally drops the ball a few seconds after the last slash. Coach A then yells a word that you can't say on TV really loud and is flagged for a 1:00 NR USC.
What's he cursing about? And what should he have done?
[If you know this right away, wait until 3/20 to post your answer to give other people a chance to wrestle with it.]
[Slight edit to make it even more interesting.]
Here's the deal:
Different answers for NCAA and NFHS, although in both cases the fouls are not simultaneous (the slashes are live-ball and the USC is dead ball). However, by NCAA 7-2-d (similar rule in NFHS), the 1:00 USC foul by Coach A makes the longest common penalty time
non-releasable. Thus, Coach A took those 7 releasable penalties and turned them into 7 non-releasable penalties, all for the low, low price of a 1-minute penalty on his own team and loss of possession.
Now for the specifics:
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NCAA: As Sonny points out, the penalties stack, so B1-B3 serve 1:00 NR while A1 serves 1:00 NR; this will be followed by B3-B6 serving 1:00 NR, then B7 serving 1:00 NR. Thus, Team A is up 2 men for 1:00, 3 men for 1:00, and 1 man for 1:00.
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NFHS: Team B will have 7 players in the penalty area at once, all for 1:00, while Team A will have one player serving for 1:00, all non-releasable. Team B will have to have 3 players on its offensive end and
none on its defensive end. Team B will have possession, but if Team A can get the ball they'll have an open goal and they'll score.
But there's more: Team B cannot legally put a player out to face-off, so Team A will get possession in its offensive end, will still have no defense to face, and they'll score again. And again, and again!
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Now, this coach seems pretty sharp, but he wasn't sharp enough. If he had gotten his USC while the play was still live, we would have been in a simultaneous foul situation (all 8 fouls occurring during the same live ball). Everything would be the same, except Team A would have been awarded possession based on less overall penalty time.
This is clearly better in the NCAA scenario, but where it really shines is in the NFHS scenario: you have possession in your offensive end, no defense or goalie, and 1 minute to score as many goals as you can. I would guess that a decent team could score about 7-10 goals, and a really, really good team could put in over 15! And even if you miss on a pass and the ball goes OOB, the other team can't legally take possession, so you'd still get the ball back (on a shot, you'd pretty much have to get possession since Team B's closest player is on the other side of the field).
Of course, if you ever see anything close to this in a game, you should buy a lottery ticket on the way home.