Texas Rejects Mercy Rule for High School Football

June 11, 2014 / Football

The UIL rejected a proposal this week to institute a mercy rule for high school football games.

The idea resulted from a game last October, when Aledo High School beat Western Hills High School 91-0. There is currently a mercy rule for six-man football, but none of the higher classification 11-man squads in Texas.

The University Interscholastic League legislative counsel met on Tuesday in Austin and quickly shot down the idea.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has refereed high school and college games for nearly three decades and said he wasn’t surprised by the UIL’s decision.

“There’s a strong feeling that the kids that are on the fourth string need to play as well, and if you stop the game at halftime they lose that opportunity,” Anderson said.

Aledo will play in Class 5A beginning this fall. The school had previously competed in Class 4A.

texas