High school football, also known as prep football, is

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

played by

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

teams in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries. It is the level of

tackle football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, th ...

that is played before

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Rules

The

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

(NFHS) establishes the rules of high school

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

in the United States. In Canada, high school is governed by

Football Canada Football Canada is the governing body for gridiron football in Canada headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Football Canada focuses primarily its own Canadian form of the sport, and is currently the world's only national governing body for Canadia ...

and most schools use

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

rules adapted for the high school game except in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, which uses the NFHS rules. Since the 2019 high school season,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

is the only state that does not base its football rules on NFHS rules, instead using

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules with certain exceptions shown below. Through the 2018 season,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

also based its rules on those of the

, but it adopted NFHS rules in 2019. With their common ancestry, NFHS rules of high school American football are largely similar to those of

, though there are some important differences: * The four quarters are each 12 minutes in length, as opposed to 15 minutes in college and professional football. Texas uses the NFHS 12-minute quarter. * Kickoffs take place at the kicking team's 40-yard line, as opposed to the 35 in college and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. (Texas has adopted the NFHS rule.) * Hashmarks are 53 feet, 4 inches apart, dividing the field into thirds. College hashmarks have been 40 feet apart since 1993 (moved in from 53'4"), and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) hashmarks have been 18 feet, 6 inches apart since 1972 (moved in from 40'). * If an attempted

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

is missed it is treated as a punt, normally it would be a

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

and the opposing team will start at the 20-yard line. However, if it does not enter the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

, it can be downed or returned as a normal punt. ** The same rule was used in the NFL through 1973. * The use of a

kicking tee A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club, or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from th ...

is legal for field goal and extra point attempts. Texas has adopted the NFHS rule, although tees have been banned by the NCAA since 1989. * Any kick crossing the goal line is automatically a touchback; kicks cannot be returned out of the end zone. * The spot of placement after all touchbacks—including those resulting from kickoffs and free kicks following a safety—is the 20-yard line of the team receiving possession. In contrast with NCAA rules, which call for the ball to be placed on the receiving team's 25-yard line if a kickoff or free kick after a safety results in a touchback, or NFL rules adopted in 2024, which places a touchback at the 20 or 30 depending upon whether or not the ball hit inside the "landing zone" prior to reaching the end zone. * All fair catches result in the placement of the ball at the spot of the fair catch. Under NCAA rules, a kickoff or free kick after a safety that ends in a fair catch inside the receiving team's 25-yard line is treated as a touchback, with the ball spotted on the 25. * Pass interference by the defense results in a 15-yard penalty, but no automatic first down (prior to 2013, the penalty also carried an automatic first down). * Pass interference by the offense results in a 15-yard penalty, from the previous spot, and no loss of down. * The defense cannot return an extra-point attempt for a score. Texas is the lone exception. * Any defensive player that encroaches the neutral zone, regardless of whether the ball was snapped or not, commits a "dead ball" foul for encroachment. 5-yard penalty from the previous spot. * Prior to 2013, offensive pass interference resulted in a 15-yard penalty and a loss of down. The loss of down provision was deleted from the rules starting in 2013. In college and the NFL, offensive pass interference is only 10 yards. * The use of

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

, and the type of overtime used, is up to the individual state association. NFHS offers a suggested overtime procedure based on the

Kansas Playoff Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

, but does not make its provisions mandatory. * The home team must wear dark-colored jerseys, and the visiting team must wear white jerseys. In the NFL, as well as conference games in the Southeastern Conference, the home team has choice of jersey color. Under general NCAA rules, the home team may wear white with approval of the visiting team, or both teams may wear colored jerseys if they sufficiently contrast. * Since 2018, the so-called "pop-up kick"—a free kick technique sometimes used for

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff (under American and Canadian rules) or punt (under Canadian rules only) deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a t ...

s, in which the kicker drives the ball directly into the ground so that it bounces high in the air (thus eliminating the possibility of a fair catch)—has been banned. * Since 2019, NFHS gave its member associations the option to allow

replay review A game replay, also known as a demo, is a form of user-generated content. In most instances, a game replay is a recording of a battle or race between opponents in a video game which can then be viewed by other players. However, game replays are al ...

in postseason games only. Previously, it prohibited the use of replay review even if the venue had the facilities to support it. In Texas, the public-school sanctioning body, the

University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organ ...

, only allows replay review in state championship games, while the main body governing non-public schools, the

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas. It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Sa ...

, follows the pre-2019 NFHS practice of banning replay review. * In 2022, the NFHS adopted an exception to the intentional grounding rule that allows a quarterback who is outside the tackle box to throw the ball away without penalty as long as the pass reaches the line of scrimmage, including its extension beyond the sidelines. The NFL and college football had long used this rule. It also made 0 a legal player number, although that digit remains banned as the first digit of a two-digit number. * In 2023, the base spot of enforcement for most offensive fouls behind the line of scrimmage changed from the spot of the foul to the previous line of scrimmage. Also, the intentional grounding rule adopted in 2022 was slightly modified; the only player who can benefit from the exception adopted in 2022 is the first player to possess the ball after the snap (almost always the quarterback). * In 2024, like the NFL, the UFL, and NCAA, Texas begin allowing the

two-minute warning The two-minute warning is a suspension of play in an American football game that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. Its effect on play is s ...

once the play ends and up to two minutes remain in the half. At least one unique high school rule has been adopted by college football. In 1996, the

rules originally utilized by Kansas high school teams beginning in 1971 were adopted by the

, although the NCAA has made five major modifications. Through the 2018 season, each possession started from the 25-yard line. Since 2021, this remains in force through the first two overtime procedures. In double overtime, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown. Secondly, triple overtime & thereafter are two-point conversion attempts instead of possessions from the 25-yard line, and successful attempts are scored as conversions instead of touchdowns. Thirty-four states have a

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called t ...

that comes into play during one-sided games after a prescribed scoring margin is surpassed at halftime or any point thereafter. The type of mercy rule varies from state to state, with many using a "continuous clock" after the scoring margin is reached. Except for specific situations, the clock keeps running on plays where the clock would normally stop. Other states end the game once the margin is reached or passed. Texas, for instance, uses a 45-point mercy rule to stop the game only in six-man football; for 11-man football, there is no automatic stoppage but the coaches may mutually agree to use a continuous clock.

Demographics

High school football in the United States is played almost entirely by boys. Over the past decade, girls have made up less than half a percent of the players of American high school football. Eight states have high schools that sanction the non-contact alternative of

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

, but none sanction tackle football for girls, and a 2021 lawsuit in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

that claimed the state violated

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

laws by not sanctioning the sport was struck down. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', in 2006, 70% of high school football players were white and 20% were black. By 2018, those figures were 30% white and 40% black. , black youth are nearly three times more likely than white youth to play tackle football. In the 2010s, participation in high school football decreased in most states across the United States.

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

saw the largest decrease, dropping by nearly a quarter from 2009 to 2019; only seven states saw an increased number of players. Its popularity decline is partly due to risk of injury, particularly

concussions A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brie ...

. According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', between 2009 and 2019, participation in high school football declined by 9.1%.

Safety and brain health concerns

Robert Cantu, a Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Co-Founder of the CTE Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, believes that children under 14 should not play tackle football. Their brains are not fully developed, and myelin (nerve cell insulation) is at greater risk in shear when the brain is young. Myelination is completed at about 15 years of age. Children also have larger heads relative to their body size and weaker necks.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

(CTE) is caused by repeated brain trauma, such as concussions and blows to the head that do not produce concussions. It has been found in football players who had played for only a few years, including some who only played at the high school level. An NFL-funded study reported that high school football players suffered 11.2 concussions per 10,000 games or practices, nearly twice as many as college football players. According to 2017 study on brains of deceased gridiron football players, 99% of tested brains of

players, 88% of

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

players, 64% of semi-professional players, 91% of

players, and 21% of high school football players had various stages of CTE. Other common injuries include injuries of legs, arms, and lower back.

Largest high school stadiums by capacity

The following is a list of the largest high school football stadiums in the United States, including stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000.

References

* ''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

College Football Encyclopedia'' by Michael McCambridge – lists all-time records for all current Division I and

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

colleges, including games played against high school teams

External links

{{High school football award navbox Gridiron football