High School Football Stat Keeping Question

I've heard of this but have never seen it until tonight.
Ball snapped over punter's head. Kid races back, grabs ball and tries to get the punt off. It's short of the LOS, a teammate catches it and starts running. He ended up short of the first down by a foot.
I have no idea how to score that. I'm trying every google search imaginable but if anyone has an idea, I'd love to know both for my stats and just to know in case I ever see it again.

 

Was the kick partially blocked?

 

Was not blocked. This was low-level HS football, punter was trying to not lose as many yards as possible and booted it while running away from tacklers. The snap went well over his head, so it traveled like 15 yards in the air before getting to his offensive lineman, who I don't think understood the rule but caught it and ran anyway.

 

My best guess would be ,,, assuming from your description that the offense can't advance its own negative-yardage punt, the ball is downed where the lineman possessed it and the punter is given a minus 1-yard punt or whatever.

 

So you can catch your team's punt and run with it without penalty if it's behind the line? Is it really a punt in that event? A rush for a loss of a yard?

 

Offense did advance it. It was 4th and 8 at the 35, snap went over punter’s head, he eventually got it and kicked it. His own lineman caught it at the 31, turned upfield and was tackled at the 42, a yard short of the first down.
From what I did see online, a punt isn’t considered a punt until it crosses the LOS. But that story gave no indication what the play would be considered.

 

From the NCAA statisticians manual:

Article 6. A ball loose on an unblocked punt that does not cross
the line of scrimmage can be advanced by either team. The loss on
the punt is minus yardage charged against punting. If a player of
the kicking team recovers the ball and advances it, credit him with
a rush and rushing yardage from the point of recovery. If a player of
the receiving team advances the ball, credit him with a punt return
and yardage from the point of recovery.
A.R. 1. Team A’s ball on its 30. Adams’ punt glances off
his foot. He (or a teammate) picks the ball up at the 20 and
advances to the 35. Charge Adams with a punt of minus 10
yards. Credit the player advancing the ball with a rush of 15
yards.

 

This opens up all sorts of questions (well, maybe just one). Can the player on the kicking team who catches or picks up the negative-yardage punt then throw it to a teammate across the LOS? Like, could you do a whole fake punt play design around this?

 

What are the chances no lineman went downfield though?

 

Thanks for the help on this one.
Brought me back to 2004 when stat Q’s would pop up on the site almost weekly.