No Mercy (rule) in AA Football

Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2007

Recent blowout games in Class 11-AA football has prompted a lot of discussion as to possibility of instituting game-shortening mercy rules in the States highest class.

In the lower 11-man and 9-man classes, games in which a team is up by at least 35 points use a continuous-running clock, which is stopped only for scores, injuries, timeouts, and quarter breaks. If the point margin reaches 50 or more, the game is ended on a mercy rule.

In Class 11-AA, the 35-point rule and the mercy rule do not exist. While the subject has been brought up for years, AA schools do not implement either rule. Brookings Bobcats radio announcer Dellas Cole says one reason teams may not want these rules is the distance schools have to travel for these games.

Most recently, Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Rapid City Central agreed to play a shortened game after the Rough Riders built up a 42-0 first quarter lead. The final three quarters were played with a continuous clock and ended in less than two hours. Sports Director Craig Mattick of KWSN in Sioux Falls feels there will be no sanctions against either the teams or the officials.

Mattick feels the topic will be brought up again next summer, but expects thing will remain the same.