Mecca Brisbon is a student at Valley Christian and is a member of the AIA Student SID Program.

Girls flag football, which is form of non-contact football, is the newest sport added to Valley Christian. 7 on 7 girls flag football to be specific. With this being its inaugural season, it is best to give insight into the rules and regulations of the game. 

Flag football in general is different from tackle football in a multitude of ways but there are also a lot of similarities. 

It is only fitting if the first thing discussed in this article is the defining factor of what makes flag football unique, the flags. Valley's flag color varies of course depending on if we are home or away, lights for home and darks for away. Since there is no blocking in flag football, the way to "tackle" an offensive player is by pulling their respective flags off their belt. If a defender were to pull the flag of an opposing player who does not have possession of the ball, the defender's team would then receive a 5-yard penalty. To make flags obtainable for defenders, flags can never be tucked in at any point during the game. If an offensive player's flag falls off, then the ball is dead where the flag fell. 

Another difference in high school games being that halftime is only 8 minutes for flag football and 15 minutes for tackle. One of those ways the two sports are similar is the length of the game. Just like in tackle football, there are four 12-minute quarters. 

For flag football, the game clock is always running unless there is a time-out taken by either team. Each team gets three 1-minute time-outs per half. An exception for causing the game clock to halt is when a player on either team gets injured. A couple more exceptions being when there is a change of possession, following a scoring and during an extra point attempt, along with when there is an incomplete pass and penalties. The last few exceptions for stopping the game clock all come into play during the last two minutes of the game. The clock will stop after a touchdown, safety, or touchback or whenever a referee suspends play and in overtime where there is no game clock.  

The next couple of rules to cover are the coaches, the rules for players and substitutions. As for players and substitutions, only 7 players are allowed on the field at one time and every player must be rotated in at least once. Any number of substitutions can be made when the clock is stopped, and the ball is not in play. 

Next are the rules and regulations on the start of the game, downs, and kicking/punting. The field is 80 yards long with two 10-yard end zones.  Like most team sports, the team captains on each team meet and decide by the flip of a coin who gets first possession. Once the coin toss is done, one team gets to kick off from the 40-yard line. A kickoff will only happen at the start of each half. The rules for 1st down are that if possession of the ball is kept if the offensive team can continue obtaining first downs. From there the offensive team will have four plays to cover 20 yards. On 4th down the team must communicate with the officials if they are going to punt the football or go for it. When punting, rushing is prohibited, and the punter has about four seconds to punt after the ball gets snapped. If the punter messes up the kick, she still could kick if it's within those four seconds but if she cannot kick within that time then the ball is dead, and her team will receive a loss of down. 

When it comes to scoring, it is the same point system as the NFL where touchdowns are awarded six points and conversions are either one or two points. Field goals are also three points just like in tackle football. Change of possession also happens after a point conversion, field goal, safety, or interception. When setting up offensive formation, all players must have all their flags legally attached before the ball gets snapped and there are no minimum amount players that are need on the line of scrimmage. Once the ball is snapped, every player besides the quarterback is now considered to be a receiver, even the snapper. There is no limit to how many backwards passes the offensive team can make but forward passes are limited to one per play. When running the ball, it is the runner's job to avoid running into defenders. Hurdling, stiff arming, and any form of flag guarding are not allowed. Screen blocking, however, is permitted. 

The defensive rules and regulations are straightforward. There are no restrictions on defensive formations but players on the defensive team must be behind the defensive line of scrimmage.  As for rushing, there is no maximum number of players that can rush the quarterback at one time. When it comes to screen blocking it is imperative to note that it is the defender's job to go around the screen blocker. The use of arms to move opponents out the way is prohibited, as well as holding, pushing or knocking the runner down in an attempt to remove an offensive player's flag. When on defense, players must go for flags and flags only. Attempting to strip the ball from the carrier, intentionally removing the flag belt of an offensive player and bumping the ball carrier out of bounds will result in penalties for the defensive team. 

Like tackle football, there is a mercy rule that goes into effect. This rule is that the clock will continuously run if a team is leading by at least 28 points. The only time the clock stops is when there is an injury, timeout, and end of quarter.  

In overtime, each team has one set down to score and possession will switch if the game is still tied at the end of the first overtime period. Just like normal in football, the first team to score wins overtime.  

Interceptions can be returned for a touchdown, but if the interception does not result in one, the next possession will begin at the 10. 

Now that you know more about the rules of flag football, come out and support the girls in their inagural season this year! Trojans play at home this coming Tuesday at 4 PM on Benson Field!