Enforce the rules

Joe Eckstrom

While the NFL and NCAA have instituted rules to ensure the safety of their players, the National Federation of High School Sports Associations (NFHS) is slow to join the trend. While high school football did not put penalties for horse collar tackles into place until this year, there is still some question into whether these rules are being enforced as strictly as they should be.
In the third quarter of the Eden Raiders’ 7-6 win over Cassadaga Valley, the team’s star running back Julian Bermingham went down with a broken leg after being dragged down from behind. There was no penalty called on the play.
“If they are going to make it a rule they should enforce it,” Brandon Dix, Eden safety said. “It is terrible to see someone’s high school career end on a play that shouldn’t have happened.”
Despite missing a majority of the second half, Bermingham lead his team with 100 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. However, not only did the player have to suffer through a broken leg, he also had to wait over 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, because the one on duty at the game left on a call.
With so much emphasis being put on safety throughout high school, why is the effort not being fully implemented in football. More than ever schools are hiring their own athletic trainers, but these resources don’t extend to all school districts. Maybe it is time for New York State to step in and mandate trainers are in attendance.
After, hanging on to win over Cassadaga Valley, the Raiders went on to play the defending state champions in the Southwestern Trojans. While Bermingham watched from the sidelines of Ralph Wilson Stadium two Saturdays ago, the Trojans defeated Eden 21-8.
In 2005 the rule was first instituted in the NFL, after several injuries occurred the previous season. Most notorious for such plays, was former Dallas Cowboys’ safety Roy Williams, who in 2004 broke the legs of both Philadelphia Eagles’; Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens.
The so called “Roy Williams Rule” slapped players with a 15-yard penalty and potentially a fine from the NFL. Since high school players cannot be fined, there should be much higher consequences for such plays. Immediate ejections and suspension of future games would be the best way to enforce these risky plays.
“It’s so hard for players to chase down the ball carrier from behind and not horse collar them,” Terry Presto, a high school football coach said. “Most of the time when a player is chasing a ball carrier from behind, they got beat because they made a mistake. You don’t want to tell them to just give up on the play, but horse collar tackles are very dangerous.”
Another aspect that the NFL does a better job of protecting its players than the NFHS is with its rules for protecting the quarterback. While both have same penalties for roughing the passer, the NFL allows its quarterbacks to throw the ball away when under duress, given the passer is outside of the hash marks. In high school football, at no point is the quarterback able to throw the ball away without receiving a penalty for intentional grounding.
“I always thought the rules were the same as the NFL,” Cody Patterson, a former high school quarterback said. “I was about to get hit, so I threw the ball out of bounds. I ended up getting a 15-yard penalty for intentional grounding which probably cost us the game.”
In 2008 the NCAA also instituted the rule, while the CFL quickly joined the trend a year after the NFL. According to DallasNews.com the use of a horse collar tackle can cause damage to many parts of the body, “The twisting component of this tackling technique rotates the ankle, spine and knee, which could explain the higher injury rate with this type of tackle.”
Just in watching the highlights of one NFL game this weekend, I saw at least three occasions that horse collar tackles were penalized. While it may not be something that can be completely eliminated at any level of football, there is still more that can be done at the high school level. We are talking about the same rule making committee that enforces an automatic ejection and one game suspension for any high school player caught wearing jewelry.