Clocking the ball from the shotgun 

One of the other visible rules changes taking place this year in football pertains to the quarterback spiking the ball into the ground after receiving the snap from center in an attempt to stop the clock. Previously, clocking the ball in an effort to preserve time, could only be done from a traditional hand to hand snap from the center to the quarterback—which actually worked to the disadvantage of teams which run shotgun formations all the time. The rules change allows the quarterback from a shotgun formation to immediately spike the ball into the ground after receiving it to stop the clock with an incomplete pass, bringing the high school rule in line with the college and professional rules.

Be the Referee is a weekly message from the Michigan High School Athletics Association that is designed to help educate people on the rules in different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.