The flag football season kicks off Wednesday in the Sac-Joaquin Section, and yes, kicking is now included.
In May, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) released its first flag football rule book to provide uniformity in the fast-growing sport across the nation. The SJS has implemented rule changes for the 2025 season to closer align with NFHS guidelines.
There are currently 14 states that have sanctioned flag football as sport. The California Interscholastic Federation, going into year 3 with flag football, saw a whopping 84% increase in participation from 2023 to 2024.
“I think it’s great, honestly,” Sierra coach Chris Zalunardo said. “It uniforms us nationally, and it’s a good thing. It helps the sport progress and grow.”
Among the biggest gameplay changes are the inclusion of punting/kicking and non-contact screen blocking. Rush rules have been altered dramatically.
Games will still be played with a running clock, but with four 12-minute quarters instead of two 24-minute halves. Conversion tries have also been tweaked — one-point attempts are now from the 3-yard line, and two-pointers from the 10. One-point tries were previously taken from the 5. Additionally, defending teams can no longer return interceptions for two points.
Possessions at the start of halves or after touchbacks begin at the 14-yard line, as opposed to the 20 under previous rules.
Teams may opt to kick/punt from the line of scrimmage and must declare their intention to do so. The kicking team is now allowed to recover the ball. The receiving team may recover and advance grounded kicks but not muffed kicks.
Screen blocking was previously only permitted at or behind the line of scrimmage but can now occur anywhere on the field.
The neutral zone has shrunk from 7 yards to 1 yard, but the number of legal pass rushers has increased. Now, all seven defensive players may pressure the quarterback. Only two rushers were previously allowed.
As for penalties, intentional grounding has been instituted as a foul and results in a loss of down, while flag guarding is now considered “illegal use of hands” and applied when the ball carrier makes contact with the opponent. Illegal use of hands no longer results in a loss of down.
There are also standardized rules for ball color, field equipment, game jerseys and field dimensions.
Teams have already had a chance to play under these new rules in summertime scrimmages. Some are also participating in SJS Foundation Games this, which don’t count against official records but benefit
“Some of the rules are big game changers, but they weren’t hard to adjust to,” Zalunardo said. “At the base of it, it’s the same game, it’s just more like college play.”
Western Athletic Conference runner-up Lathrop starts regular-season action Wednesday at Kimball. The Spartans and Sierra, the reigning Valley Oak League champion, are part of the first wave of schools to launch flag football programs during its inaugural season. Zalunardo’s Timberwolves will host their opener Thursday night against St. Mary’s, the defending champion of the Tri-City Athletic League.
First-year River Islands debuts Thursday at home against Stagg, then travels to second-year Ripon on Monday.
East Union, coming off a very successful first season, starts Saturday in the Orestimba Tournament and welcomes intra-district foe Lathrop on Tuesday.
