earliest or just any running clock stories

I posted mine in that thread, but we played Poly and they were smashing us, 60-0 in the first half we finally got to a running clock late in the second quarter only when we yelled across the field to ask the other HC if we could and he said yes, even though the ref lied and said he declined and it was in fact only the ref who didn't want the running clock.


Everywhere I've been it's a running clock once it's more than a 35 point lead and In the second half. If it's the first half coaches have to agree to it.

In 2015 we scored 41 points in the first quarter of the game with some one play drives, 2 pick sixes, etc. At the end of the first quarter we started heading to the locker room. The officials had to remind us that it was just the end of the 1st quarter. Thankful we were able to keep the score down the rest of the way. No sense in humiliating anyone any worse than you have to.

I will also throw in this- I think the "mercy rule" has greatly changed the landscape of HS football here.

I look back at my HS career and early coaching career and a "blowout" was something like the 35-0 Homecoming game we won our Sr year. My Jr year we won our last game 63-6 and it was front page of the Bloomington newspaper newsworthy. When I started coaching, if you were up 20pts it was time to start subbing.

Now, it seems as if half the games are running clock/40+ points games. We just had a playoff game in Illinois end 94-72. I've actually coached teams that just flat quit on you hoping to give up 40 and get home faster. I definitely feel it has changed football. And I'm not sure it's for the better.

I will point out that the current Iowa rule is that the clock starts to run whenever the winning team gets a 35 point margin, but then it returns to regular timing if the losing team gets the margin to less than 35.

In TN the running clock won’t start until the second half and a team has to be down by 35 points. If the losing team cuts it to less than 35, the clock stops again.

I’ve coached in several games where the running clock started with the 3rd quarter because, as I said in the other thread, I worked for a HC who actually wanted to get the clock running on us as soon as possible and would get really mad any time the clock stopped for an incomplete pass in the first half.

We were up 28-0 at half one year week 9. The opposing coach asked for a running clock in the second half. Then with about 3 minutes to go, he goes no huddle and used all 3 timeouts to get a score in and lose 34-6.

One year we were really good and played a team that was bad but had a D.1 RB. Hw was supposed to have had an ankle injury but started. In the first half they just used him as a decoy and threw him a couple of bubbles while we went up by a lot. We started the 2nd half with a running clock and played our 2nds and JVs while they started feeding their back the ball. He ran wild (but not enough to be a threat) against our JVs and statistically it looked like he played well. He get named the local paper's Player of the Week.

Not exactly on topic but...

We were down 14-0 in a playoff game after running 2 offensive plays. The other team ran 0. Threw a pick 6 second play of the game ensuing kickoff we fumbled it and they scooped and scored. Not kidding like 30 seconds were off the clock. Final was like 68-30.

We were also beating a team like real bad, 50s-0 at half. Was a boys home that had just started football that season. Was an interesting team to say the least... Had freshman in 4th qtr like playing out of position. Said to one of our other assistants "If we break a run I'm jumping on the field and either tackling the kid or doing something." Next play...BOOM kid rips one up the middle on a blast play break away, can see him grabbing me on the film as I tried to run on the field. Refs threw a flag thank God.

I believe in Michigan running clock cannot start until the second half, and you have to have a 35 point lead. I recently learned that we have a "super running clock" rule if a team is up by 50 where the clock doesn't stop for anything aside from a timeout.

New goal.

In Illinois the running clock doesn't stop after it starts. It makes the jag bags who leave their varsity in to score on your freshmen and then whoop and holler and let off train whistles and fireworks (yes, it actually happened to me in a playoff game) a little easier to stomach. Or the a-holes who onside kick on your third stringers after scoring in the 4th when you were up 42-0 at halftime and subbed out your studs (again, another playoff game).

Not that stuff angered me or anything...

We were scouting an opponent deadlier this year: watching the film we thought the film was just messes up- the plays did end a bit early. The team we were playing ran no more than 3 plays of any kind in a row offense/defense. They turned the ball over in 3 or less and the other team scored in 3 or less. It was 56-0 at half and the team ahead had only run 10 offensive plays, running clock in 1st quarter with 3 min. Left. Team ahead ran the 2nd half kick back for a TD. They ran FB dive every play after that and attempted FG’s instead of punting.

This. That story of the team winning by over 100 is insane. We catch flack, at least on the JV level from parents if we don't start subbing in up 2 scores which is absurd. We don't sub in if a game is that close until the last series or two in the 4th.

I did once start subbing in the first quarter because we jumped out to an easy 28-0 lead. Probably should've went for the running clock but there was nothing to gain other than getting out a little quicker and it's nice to get kids some quality PT. We didn't score again because I called the dogs off early. This team was so bad. We ended up winning 28-0 and their coaches who we know pretty well were appreciative.