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Fourth-Down Illegal Pass

authored by NIRSA NIRSA Flag Football Rules Book 22nd Edition Rule 5-2-1 Page 48

Fourth and 5 from A’s 15. A-1 throws an illegal forward pass beyond A’s scrimmage line: (a) at A’s 23 and the ball hits the ground. (b) at A’s 26 and the ball hits the ground.

In (a), B’s ball on A’s 18, 1st down and goal to go. Since the 5 yard penalty put A 2 yards short of the zone line-to-gain on 4th down, the loss of down awards the ball to B. In (b), A is penalized 5 yards and loss of down, which puts the ball on A’s 21, 1st down and 19. Even though an illegal forward pass carries a loss of down, since the 5 yard penalty enforcement places the ball beyond the 20 yard line, it is 1st down for A.
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