Line of scrimmage

“ The forward who first reaches the ball tosses it back to the defense men, who hold it until the line of attack is formed and then pass it back. Immediately a fierce scrimmage takes place and either a score is made or the ball changes side and a scrimmage occurs at the other end. ”

“ Others will play a fine open game, but refuse a scrimmage, while a scrimmage is to some the cream of the whole game, and they will never give way, no matter how hard others bear against them, but stand like a Yale or Princeton line in the teeth of an onslaught.
In a hard match ponies are only played for about seven minutes, they get so winded; but often they go off the field most reluctantly, and chafe to get back into the game. ”

“ The mass heaves and pants and groans, the poor ball looks as if all the air must surely be squeezed out of it, and the spectators are breathless with excitement.
"Hold on there!—man down!" cries a blue, and red faces and rough heads are raised for a second or two, while the unlucky blue with difficulty rises to his feet. No sooner, however, has he done so than the scrimmage forms again, and the reds, being the heavier lot, gradually but surely force their opponents down to their goal line, and get a "touch down in goal." ”

“ He should meet the interference with body well forward, the arms extended straight and stiff, so as not to be hit by the interference, being careful to keep a little to the outside of it. In plays through the middle of the line, or pile up, the ends should keep out of the scrimmage, so as to be sure that the runner does not come out of the pile. ”

“ You are in the game to act. Hurry up and do as your coach and trainer advise you. If you know more about the game than they do, it is time for you to quit. Hurry up and always block your inside man if you are playing on the line of scrimmage. Hurry up and get versatile. Do not be a machine player in your individual position. ”

“ Ends, Guards and Tackles—They block the man on their inside gap, and if no man is there, they block the man over them. They are trying to form a completely new line of scrimmage on their first charge about one yard straight ahead. It is very important these six men penetrate the defense on their initial charge, in order to give the kicker adequate room to kick the football.
Center—The center’s first responsibility is to make a good snap to the person who is going to kick the football. Then he blocks the man in the off-gap—no one there, blocks man over him. ”

“ If the ball goes out of bounds, whether it bounds back or not, a player of the side which secures it must bring it to the spot where the line was crossed, and there walk out with it at right angles to the side-line, any distance not less than 5 nor more than 15 yards, and at that point put it down for a scrimmage, first declaring how far he intends walking. ”

“ Captain Fisher has plenty of men for every position excepting the center trio, which he is trying to build up from the heavy men who are volunteering. Every afternoon the candidates for the eleven practice running, tackling, punting and falling on the ball, and then line up for a few minutes' active scrimmage. ”

“ In Figure 69 the left corner man goes up on the line of scrimmage, and from his new position he carries out the same assignment he would if he lined up in his normal position of two and one-half yards deep and four yards wide. ”

“ In America, when the ball has gone out of bounds or a runner has been tackled and held and the ball downed, the ball is also put into play by an evolution called a scrimmage, usually called “line-up,” which beyond the name bears no resemblance to the English scrummage. The ball, at every moment of the game, belongs theoretically either to one side or to the other. ”

“ True, Shock comes out of every tussle bloody, serene, and smiling as usual, but the other men are showing the punishment of the last hour's terrible scrimmage. The extra weight of the McGill line is beginning surely to tell. It is an anxious moment for the 'Varsity captain, for any serious weakening of the scrimmage line is disastrous to the morals of a team.
"You are holding them all right, old chap," says old Black, taking advantage of a pause in the play while little Brown's leg is being rubbed into suppleness.
"I'd like to open out, but I'm afraid to do it," replies Campbell. ”

“ We also have drills in which our linemen run half-speed and the defensive secondary, full speed. At times one side of the line will be full speed and the other half-speed. The offense is operating full speed and does not know which side of the defensive line is full speed and which side is half-speed.
Our game condition scrimmages are about the only time our entire defensive unit will play full speed, with the exception of full speed goal line defensive scrimmages occasionally. We learn and rehearse our defenses as a team, but seldom scrimmage full speed as a team. ”

“ You don’t happen to see a black derby sticking up behind a bush anywhere, do you?”
Going back, Tom, trundling the chair, broke a silence of several minutes with: “Look here, Loring, I wish you’d do something for me. I mean for us, for the Scrub Team.”
“I will if I can. What is it?”
“Well, you’ve been looking on at practice and scrimmage almost every day, and you know a lot about football and how it ought to be played, and I’ve been thinking that a fellow on the side-line sees a good deal that gets by those on the field.” ”

“ The objective point of our own team is the final white line over there to the left, while the enemy's eleven will strive in the opposite direction. Each man on each team will have a part to perform, whether it be the carrying of the ball himself or assisting his comrades, and unless each man does that part his team will fail in its attempts. There is one main way in which the ball is legally advanced. This is in the arms of a runner. Passed from hand to hand it may be, and each scrimmage necessarily starts that way, but the passes must never be made in the direction of the opponents' goal. ”

“ Defence to a scrimmage or down.—A given territory to defend and a certain number of men to do it with is the problem of the defence. Whenever the two opposing elevens are lined up on the field, there is theoretically a line of 160 feet through any part of which the eleven on the offensive may advance. The shorter the territory is made through which an advance is possible, the better that territory may be protected by the eleven men. ”

“ Harvard has lost the ball and Yale has it. And now before my bewildered eyes scrimmage follows scrimmage with fierce iteration, and one pile of bodies, arms, and legs succeeds another. The player, fortunate enough to carry or force the ball a yard or more toward the rival goal by a frantic rush before he is overwhelmed and squashed, reaps a whirlwind of applause from the absorbed multitude. Every inch of ground is disputed. Once in a long interval when the ball gets dangerously near a goal, someone on the imperiled side kicks it half the length of the field, and the scrimmages are renewed. ”

“ As early as the men are able to stand it, about one-quarter of each day's work ought to be devoted to scrimmage practice. The first two weeks of formation and signal drills are sufficient to put the men into condition for the rough wear of scrimmage. In completing an offense the coach must not only give every man on the team a thorough preliminary drill in offensive tactics, but, if he hopes for a strong, varied attack, he must allow each man a thorough trial in carrying the ball during actual scrimmages. No rules can be laid down for building up an offense. ”

“ Pepper, the 'Varsity full back, however, is at the spot and returns into touch. In the throw-in McGill secures the ball, and by a swift rush makes fifteen or twenty feet, when, amid the cheers of the spectators, both teams settle down into their first scrimmage.
These are the days of close scrimmage play, when nine men on each side put their heads down with the ball between them, and shove for dear life. Picking out, heeling out, or kicking out is strictly forbidden and promptly penalised. ”

“ You fellow with the long legs, you make your steps too long. Duck-walk it. This way. Waddle—waddle—waddle! See? Try it again. Better. All right for that. One more thing, though. Don’t neglect to hog every inch the officials will let you get away with. Your hand, the left if you use it to balance with, the right if you use but one, will be in advance of every portion of your body except your head. Find out how far forward you can set your hand without bringing your head beyond your scrimmage line and always put it there. ”

“ The men in the middle pushed straight ahead, and those at the sides inwards towards the ball, while the two or three remaining forwards lent their weight to one side or other of the base, according as the exigencies of the scrimmage demanded. Thus our wedge, embodying a concentrated pressure in the direction of the ball, the farther it advanced the farther it scattered asunder the foe, who fell off from its gradually widening sides without hope of getting again within reach of the ball except by retreating to the rear and beginning the struggle over afresh. ”

“ The first scrimmage results in a dead ball. Once more a scrimmage is formed, but again the result is a dead ball. Over and over again this play is repeated with very little gain on either side. It gradually becomes apparent, however, that McGill in a scrimmage is slightly heavier. Foot by foot they work their way toward the 'Varsity goal. ”

“ Now, if truth must be told, our school always had the reputation of being second to none in “going through a scrimmage,” so while the players are scrambling to their feet, and waiting for the ball to be “grounded,” I will explain what our method of doing the thing was.
It was nothing more nor less than a carrying out of the principle of the wedge. The ball formed the apex; the fellows got up close to it, so as never to let it out of reach of their four feet. ”

“ The day before each hard game should be spent in putting on the final touches and toning up the men. Light work only should be attempted at this time and it is better to have no scrimmage practice at all. A man who enters the game full of energy and go will be of far greater value than one who is lame and wearied by work of this kind at this late day. The slight benefit to his mechanical proficiency, derived from this eleventh hour scrimmage work, is more than counter-balanced by the player's consequent lack of spirit and tone. ”

“ Of course old Firozji may have thought his kind of guard would come cheaper, and that Ambrose and his wife would be such valuable prizes for the Codgers that he himself could slip away unnoticed if there was a scrimmage. But this is all nonsense. It’s most unlikely there has been any scrimmage at all.”
“Of course; why would there be?” asked Brian dreamily. “No doubt the old sinner is sailing happily down the river, congratulating himself on the money he’s saved. ”

“ Tuesday’s practice was held in secret and so was Wednesday’s. Most of the time was devoted to familiarizing the team with the new signals and smoothing out the plays to be used on Saturday. Those two days were hard ones and everyone was kept on the jump every minute. The actual scrimmage was short and often interrupted. On Wednesday night there was a signal drill in the gymnasium. The doors were closed more as a matter of habit than anything else, since it was a well understood thing that none save the team, the coaches and trainer were to enter. ”

“ He had attended football practice only twice, on Tuesday and Thursday, and practice was getting very interesting and exciting now, for there was a scrimmage every afternoon between the first and second teams, and, since it was now the height of the season, those scrimmages were no love-feast. Every player was animated either by the stern determination to hold his place at all costs—if he was a first-string man—or to wrest someone else’s place from him—if he was a substitute. ”

“ Only five minutes of playing time were left, and the ball was in the hands of their enemies. They ranged up for the scrimmage with the desperation of men faced by advancing doom but bound to go down fighting. ”

“ In an instant it was caught up by one of the Craven quarter-backs, and in an instant our men were upon him again before he could get a start for a run. Scrimmage after scrimmage ensued, the ball was constantly in Chancery, but each crush brought us a yard or so nearer the enemy’s goal than we had been before.
All this time I was little better than a spectator, for the ball never once came within reach of my fingers, and I was beginning to think that, after all, a big match was not so exciting a thing as one is apt to imagine. ”

“ They crouched together, bundled under their own blankets and another, and watched intensely. To you or me that second scrimmage wouldn’t have proved very interesting. In fact, I doubt if either of us would have stayed two [102] minutes out there in that chilling gale. ”

“ The Americans started with the English scrimmage, kicked at the ball, and pushed and scrambled for a season, until it was discovered that a very clever manifestation of the play was to let the opponents do the kicking—in fact, to leave an opening at the proper moment through which the ball would come, and a man a few feet behind this opening could always get the ball and pass it while the men who kicked it were still entangled in the scrimmage. After a little of this, no one was anxious to kick the ball through, and the rushers began to roll the ball sidewise along between the lines. ”

“ Primitive Rugby football was a very different affair to the highly scientific game of the present day. There was more running with the ball, far less kicking into touch, and no heeling out behind the scrimmage. Hacking was not only permissible but was one of the main features of the game, and when the ball was put down in the scrimmage the object of each side was to 'hack it through,' that is, to clear a path for the ball by kicking the shins of every one in the way as hard as possible. ”