Flag Weekly Bull 10/12/26

SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL FOR FLAG FOOTBALL – October 12, 2026
 
Horizontal Snap – A snap must be a backward pass, never a handoff.  And the receiver of the snap must be a minimum of 2-yards behind the line of scrimmage.  There is no requirement that the snap must go between the snapper’s legs.
 
Stripes on Shorts – We are still running into some isolated instances of vertical stripes on shorts.  Teams are being penalized for illegal equipment and charging that unsportsmanlike penalty to the head coach.  Thank you to all of the schools who immediately switched to legal shorts.  It is much appreciated.
 
Intentional Encroachment by the Defense – One team had a strategy to intentionally encroach when they were on defense and the offense had a 1^st and short yardage to gain another 1^st down.  When they intentionally encroached, it would give the opponent the 1^st down, but now they would face almost a 1^st and 20-Yds to the next 1^st down.  One coach figured this out and yelled out that he wanted to decline the penalty.  Any coach can decline any penalty, thus keeping his 1^st and short yardage situation intact.
 
Punting – Once again, the snap to the kicker must be a backward pass and the kicker must be a minimum of 2-Yds behind the line of scrimmage.  Once the snap is ended, we are in a live ball situation so it would be legal for the snapper to slide sideways to avoid being hit by the punt.  It is also legal for the defense to stand at their line of scrimmage and attempt to jump and block the kick.  If the defense were to touch the punt, that touching is ignored as stated in rule 6-1-8.
 
More on Punting – If the defense or offense is subbing in preparation for a punt, please hold the ready-for-play whistle and hack until all subbing has been completed.  If this is happening near the end of either half, then can only wait 20-seconds before allowing the snap and the punt to proceed.
 
2-Minute Warning – The warning will take place at the first dead ball with 2-minutes or less remaining in either half.  So if the clock is stopped with 2:03 on the clock, you must run another play before stopping for the 2-minute warning.
 
Flag Playoffs – Seeding will take place Saturday October 24 at 12:00 via zoom and will be posted on the CIF website that same day.  There is no official ball for the playoffs, but the ball must be a legal ball.
 
First Round
Division I - IV                                                            Date: Tuesday, October 27th 
Open Division                                                            Date: Wednesday, October 28th 
*Contests are to be hosted at the home site of the higher seed. By mutual agreement and after consulting with Assigner starting times may be adjusted by the home site.
 
Quarterfinals & Semifinals:
Division I - IV Quarterfinals                                      Date: Thursday, October 29th
Open and Divisions I - IV Semifinals                        Date: Tuesday, November 3rd
*Contests are to be hosted at the home site of the higher seed. By mutual agreement and after consulting with Assigner starting times may be adjusted by the home site.
 
Championships:
Saturday, November 7^th – Olympian High School
Division IV                 10:00
Division III                 12:00
Division II                   2:00
Division I                    4:00
Open Division             6:00
 
2026 Flag Football Officials Fees   
Preliminary Rounds                Referee $90 – Other Officials $85
Championships                       Referee $100 – Other Officials $95