HCPA

1. Field Dimensions
1. Field Length--45 yards long
2. Field Width--160 feet (60 feet to hash mark, 40 feet between)
3. End Zone--10 yards deep
2. Player Equipment
1. For all Qualifiers and the National Invitational Championship, all teams
will be asked to have two jerseys (a light and a dark jersey) with player’s
number on the front (Suggested) and back (Mandatory). The number on
the front must be a minimum of 2” and the number on the back must be a
minimum of 4”
2. No tackle football jerseys of any type shall be worn. T-shirts, compression
shirt, or basketball type sleeveless shirts are the only choices of
acceptable jerseys. No player will be allowed to participate without a
shirt.
3. A mouthpiece is required. No player will be allowed to participate without
a mouthpiece.
4. Ball size shall be as follows; 8U Division – Wilson K2 or TDJ, 10U
Division – Wilson TDJ or TDY, 12U Division Wilson TDJ or TDY, 13U/7th
Grade Division – Wilson TDY or Official HS, 14U/8th Grade Division –
18U/Varsity Division – Official HS
5. A soft-shell HELMET or HEADBAND will be REQUIRED for all
Texas Champions League Events.
6. A soft-shell helmet/headband is defined as:
1. Helmets/Headbands should meet the Virginia Tech rating of 4
stars or higher. For info click:
https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/soccer-headgear-ratings.html
2. Must not have metal components.
3. Must have fully functional fit retention system or chin strap.
3. Starting the game
1. A central timekeeper will be designated. ALL games will begin and end
on this person's instructions. He will also announce the time remaining at
the 10, 5, and 2-minute mark only.
2. Visitors will have first possession and wear white (top team in bracket or
first team listed will be the visitor). The home team will have first
possession the 2nd half and wear a dark color (bottom team in bracket or
2nd team listed will be the home team).
3. Visitors (team in white) will always align their team on the right sideline
facing the end zone. Home (dark jersey) will always align their team on
the left sideline facing the end zone.
4. Ball is always placed on the right hash mark when at the 45-yard line.
5. Referee will announce/post score before each offensive possession
begins.
4. Moving the ball
1. Offensive Plays Must All Be Passes! (No Run plays or Kicking/Punting)
2. Field is marked at 15-yard intervals. (3 first downs without a penalty
would result in a touchdown)
3. Possession always begins at the 45-yard line at the right hash mark. The
officials in accordance with NCAA rules will enforce the hash mark
placement of the ball, once the ball has been advanced.
4. No penalty will be assessed more than the 45 yd. line. On an
unsuccessful or successful offensive play from the 45-yard line resulting
in an offensive penalty: The ball will be returned to the 45-yard line and
THE NEXT SUCCEEDING PLAY WILL BE FORFEITED. I.e., 1st down
will become 2nd down; 2nd down will become 3rd down; and 3rd down
will result in a turnover.
5. Offenses always move in the same direction.
6. No “Double Passes” are allowed.
7. Once a forward pass has been thrown, a backward pass (lateral) is
allowed.
8. Should a swing pass not cross the LOS and a defensive player tags the
ball carrier behind the 45-yard line, it is a safety.
9. Snapper will position the ball within 3 seconds at the next scrimmage
spot. (Delay of game if not set)
5. Special Rules
1. No blocking.
2. 1 Offensive Coach may be on the field thru 15U/9th Grade.
(Texas Champions League or their delegate reserve the right to remove any
offensive coach on the field based on behavior. Decisions will be final)
3. Receiver/Ball carrier is legally down when touched with one or both
hands. (Excessive force by shoving, pushing, or striking a blow will be
penalized by automatic first down, 15 yards and an Unsportsmanlike
penalty WILL be assigned to the player. Expulsion of a player(s) if ruled
unsportsmanlike & flagrant) any player assessed 2 unsportsmanlike
penalties in a game will be removed from the game and possibly the
event.
4. Fumbles are dead balls at the spot with the last team retaining
possession. A muffed snap is NOT a fumble/dead ball. The 4.0 second
count remains in effect on snaps.
5. Two delay of game penalties in the same possession results in a
turnover.
6. Any offensive penalties on the extra point try results in a turnover.
7. The QB is allowed 4.0 seconds to throw the ball. The Official timekeeper
starts a stopwatch on the snap of the ball from center and stops the watch
as soon as the QB releases the ball.
1. If release is at or under 4.0 seconds, the play goes on.
2. If the timekeeper sees that the clock has exceeded 4.0 seconds,
he waits until the play is over (the play is NOT blown dead), then
brings the ball back to the original line of scrimmage with loss of
down.
3. All penalties will be marked off on a 4 second count EXCEPT for
pass interference.
7. Defensive Pass Interference is the same as NCAA rules. (Automatic 1st
down & spot foul up to 15 yds.)
8. Responsibility to avoid contact is with the defense. There will be NO
chucking, deliberate bumping, or grabbing. These actions will result in a
15 yd. unsportsmanlike penalty, automatic 1st down with the
Unsportsmanlike penalty being assigned to the player involved. Expulsion
of a player(s) if ruled unsportsmanlike & flagrant) any player/coach
assessed 2 unsportsmanlike penalties in a game will be removed from
the game and possibly the event.
8. Offensive pass interference is the same as NCAA rules. (15-yard
penalty)
9. Interceptions may be returned (“no blocking” rule applies). If an
interception is returned beyond the 45-yard line (the offensive origination
point) it is a touchdown with no point after attempt. The teammates of the
person who intercepted the ball may trail the runner to be in position to
take a backwards lateral. They may not block for or screen for the runner.
10. Offensive team is responsible for retrieving and returning the ball to the
previous spot or the new scrimmage spot in a timely fashion. Failure to
do so can result in a delay of game penalty.
11. The offensive center is not an eligible receiver (teams must have a
center). The ball must be snapped from the ground. It is highly
recommended that the ball be snapped between the snapper’s legs.
(Mirror the game of football)
12. The center will be responsible for setting or re-positioning the Referee’s
cone or beanbag at the line of scrimmage. On change of possession, the
team moving to offense will ensure the cone or beanbag gets to the new
scrimmage line. (Centers on both teams responsible).
13. Absolutely NO taunting or “trash talking” These actions will result in an
automatic 15 yd. unsportsmanlike penalty, automatic 1st down with the
Unsportsmanlike penalty being assigned to the player involved. Any
player/coach assessed 2 unsportsmanlike penalties in a game will be
removed from the game and possibly the event.
14. The offense must gain at least 15 yards in the first 3 or less plays or the
defense takes over. (There is no kicking). Four down territory occurs
only after offense proceeds to or inside the 15-yard line cone (third
quadrant).
15. Fighting: Defined as any team member throwing a punch or
brawling with the opposing team member(s). The player(s) and/or
coaches involved will be ejected from the game and tournament. If a
team fight occurs, ALL teams involved will be ejected from the
tournament and may be denied participation in any/all qualifying and/or
National tournaments! They will also be disqualified from participating in
the youth state tournament. Throwing a punch will be an automatic
disqualification for ALL future qualifiers and Nationals.
16. Any Coach, Player, Parent or Team Spectator that touches or threatens a
game official, site director, field monitor, event staff, volunteer or
tournament director will be ejected from the event and immediately
removed.
17. Any dead ball foul on a play that results in the defense getting the ball
and it is unable to be penalized back to the 50-yard line will result in a
loss of down penalty. The defense, now the offense, would be starting
play with 2nd down.
18. There will be an area referred to as the tackle box that extends 3 yards on
both sides of the center and extending 3 yards deep into the
backfield. No eligible receiver may align within the tackle box.
19. Player & Coaches Box: The Player and Coaches box will be the sideline
area extending from the 45yd line to the 15yd line and 6 feet back off the
sideline. Players and Coaches will be REQUIRED to remain in the Player
& Coaches Box area while the game clock is running. Any player or
coach that leaves this area will receive the following: 1st offense –
Sideline Warning, 2nd Offense – 5yd Sideline Penalty and loss of down,
3
rd offense - 15yd unsportsmanlike penalty, loss of down and the
unsportsmanlike penalty assigned to the teams Coach Any player/coach
assessed 2 unsportsmanlike penalties in a game will be removed from
the game and possibly the event.
6. Scoring
1. 6 points for a Touchdown
2. 6 Points for an Interception returned for a Touchdown (No PAT)
3. 3 Points for an Interception not returned for a Touchdown (Retain
Possession)
4. 1 point for PAT from 3-yard line, 2-point PAT from 10-yard line.
5. 2 points if a team returns a PAT back across the 45.
6. Official score is kept on the field by the designated referee holding the
game score card.
7. Tie Breaker (Applies to Bracket Games Only. NO overtime in pool or regular season league games)
1. There will be a coin flip to determine first possession; teams will alternate
4 down series from the 15-yard line.
2. A winner is determined when one team scores during its possession and
the other does not.
3. If a second or more overtime periods are necessary, each team must
then go for two points on the conversion attempts. (Repeat as Needed)
8. Time
1. 15-minute halves (continuous clock for each half--see: “starting the
game”).
2. No time outs. (Exception: Injuries. All games will halt until player(s) can
be removed as soon as safety dictates).
3. 2-minute half-time with games to start every 35-45 minutes.
4. Texas Champions League requires all games on adjacent
fields start/end at the same time.
5. Teams must be on site and ready to play when scheduled.
6. If a team(s) are late and cannot start when the tournament officially starts,
they will begin play with whatever time is left on the tournament clock –
not to exceed 10 minutes of 1st half.
7. A Forfeit will occur after 10 minutes of the 1st half. (if a team is more than 2 minutes late to field the opposing team will start with the ball from the 30)
8. Injury time outs may reduce the amount of time between halves and/or
between games to maintain the game schedules.

Protests: PLAYERS: A Player Protest must be made verbally with the
tournament official or with the game official by the offended team at the
time of infraction and before the completion of the game being protested
and must be specific to a player’s number and name. A fee of $100 cash
(refunded if upheld) must accompany the filed protest. Both the
offending and offended team rosters will be verified at the
completion of the protested game and prior to a winner being
determined. All decisions of the protest committee shall be final.
PLAYING RULES: A Rules Application Protest must be made verbally
with the tournament official or with the game official by the offended team
at the time of infraction. A fee of $100 cash (refunded if upheld) must
accompany the filed protest. All decisions of the protest committee
shall be final.