Should mercy be mandated on the gridiron?

In 2016, the National Federation of High School Associations provided the Indianapolis Star some numbers: Just 14 states did not have mercy rules for 11-player football.

Indiana was, and still is, one of those states.

No matter the score, if the two teams don’t agree to a running clock on an agreed point differential, the margin can continue to widen.

In my personal experiences, I haven’t seen a game where coaches haven’t agreed to a running clock in a severely lopsided game.

However — for whatever reason — they’re out there.

In the tight-knit network of high school sportswriters across the state, word travels fast on the unregulated beat-downs.

While we will never see a game like the incredible margin in 1924 — when Linton defeated Midland 157-0 — there still are plenty of games that get out of hand in a hurry.

I’ve seen 40-, 50-, 60-point wins. And those finals were with running clocks.

The Indiana Football Coaches Association has mulled the idea — on more than one occasion — but not made changes.

It’s the IFCA’s call whether or not a rule should be adopted, and IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox has gone on record saying that he’d support a form of a mercy rule.

The numbers provided to the IndyStar in 2016 showed that, “there (were) 20 states that have a mercy rule that terminates a game once a certain margin is reached, and another 14 states utilize a running clock once a designated point differential is reached.”

It should be an NFHS rule, and not up to each state.

In 2014, Ohio adopted a mercy rule that saw immediate results. Once a team led by 30 points or more at half, the clock ran in the second half.

Of 375 season-opening games that year, 114 had running clocks.

In the first week of the football season in Indiana, the average winner scored 36 points while giving up 12 for a spread of 24 points. There were 36 shutouts.

In Week 2 and Week 3, there were 31 and 38 shutouts, with spreads of 24.6 and 25.3 points.

Personally, I’m all in favor for a mercy rule.

There’s little good that comes out of decimating a downtrodden team.

Some coaches argue that those kinds of losses teach perseverance.

I argue that it teaches unsportsmanlike behavior and impudence.

Some argue that it takes away valuable playing time from the third-stringers.

I argue that they are getting on the playing field, and if they want to play from the opening whistle or outside a JV game — that’s on them.

Some argue that it’s a tradition.

I argue that as the sport evolves, so should the rules.

Why kick a kid while they’re down?

Hard feelings linger, and that leads to injury and fights on and off the field.

When a team’s up 40 points at half, why shouldn’t the clock stop?

My solution, which is far from perfect, is this: if a team leads by 35-points or more at half, the second half is a running clock.

Don’t make a set score that automatically ends the game at half. That way some of the bench players can take the field, and there isn’t a junior varsity vs. varsity matchup where the game climbs back when it shouldn’t.

On a side note: I’ve seen some programs keep varsity in while the opposing JV is playing on a running clock. I don’t care how bad your varsity team is — that’s ludicrous and should never happen.

In the postseason, allow a running clock until the sectional championship and beyond.

If a team’s talented enough to win a sectional title, they’re entitled to have a chance until the end.

All teams get to automatically play in a sectional, even though some teams shouldn’t have a postseason. I have a hard time agreeing that a team that’s 0-9 should get into a draw.

There’s a way to eradicate the problem, it will just take some action.

Thankfully, our coaches in Jackson County have some sense when it comes to running clocks.

Everyone else just needs to get on board.