Football: City Section ready to mandate overtime games

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The City Section Interscholastic Athletic Committee gave preliminary approval Monday to mandating overtime in all football games in which regulation play ends in a tie.

Last season, the City Section suffered an embarrassment when its championship game between San Pedro and Narbonne ended in a 21-21 tie. There was no procedure for having overtime.

Currently, playing overtime is optional for schools in nonleague games. The rule change would also require placing the ball on the 25-yard line and giving teams four plays to score unless they pick up a first down instead of starting the overtime on the 10-yard line.

IAC is expected to give final approval to the rule change at its next meeting in May.

‘It puts us in line with other sections in the state,’ assistant commissioner John Aguirre said.

-- Eric Sondheimer