Quote from: ncc_fan on October 21, 2023, 05:50:43 PMQuote from: USee on October 21, 2023, 03:09:39 PMBut in the interception return scenario the penalized team has possession prior to the penalty. On the punt block play Wheaton committed the penalty prior to gaining possession, so there is no turnover. (Is that the right way to look at it?)Quote from: lmitzel on October 21, 2023, 02:33:29 PMQuote from: USee on October 21, 2023, 02:25:22 PM
Something I have never seen before early in the Wheaton @ Carroll game. Wheaton, leading 7-0, blocked a punt and recovered it in the Carroll endzone for a TD. Flag on the play and it was ruled that a Wheaton player illegally batted the ball to keep it from going out of bounds through the back of the endzone (allowing his teammate to recover it). The strange part was that Carroll was given a first down instead of Wheaton's ball near the Carroll EZ. Big penalty and seems disproportionate.
Curious: what was the distance on it? I did a quick Google search and it looks like an illegal bat is a 10 yard penalty.
Other possibility is that an illegal bat also carries a loss of down. Not sure if that's why Carroll got the ball back?
It was 4th and 7. Seemed strange that you could block a punt and during the scramble to recover it, a penalty gives the ball back to the punting team. I kind of thought it would be like an illegal block on an interception return. Penalty for the return team but doesn't nullify the turnover.
I'm not certain on the rule but that's how I understand it as well. Until someone on Wheaton is holding onto the football, it is still Carroll's ball since they snapped it.