As you've no doubt noticed if you've attended any high school games this year, there's a new rule in the PIAA regarding yellow cards.

Whenever a player gets one, he or she must sit out for five minutes. Under the old rule, the player merely had to leave the field, but they could come back in on the next substitution.

Originally, the new rule was supposed to make teams play 10-V-11 while the yellow-card recipient served out his or her time. Thankfully, the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association fought to make sure that teams could still substitute.

The idea of the new rule is to limit the number of red cards that are being issued. One referee told me that officials were handing out an average of 500 red cards a year in Pennsylvania. Indeed, on its Web site, the PIAA lays out the rationale for this experiment.

"The PIAA Soccer Steering Committee and Board of Directors believe this mandatory cooling off period will assist in reducing the number of ejections during a contest and will prohibit the cautioned player to immediately return to play at the first substitution opportunity."

Now, it's a good idea to cut back on cards, and perhaps it's working (I haven't seen any numbers yet on the number of cards issued). But using the old eyeball test, I can't say that I've seen a difference in games. There are still some games where no cards are handed out, and there are others where tempers rise and the refs have to keep reaching for their books. In fact, I saw a girls game this season in which a total of four yellow cards were issued.

In short, it seems like a new rule that hasn't had any real bearing on the number of cards being issued.

"It hasn't been as big a deal as I thought it would be," Danville boys coach Chris Johns says. "And I don't think it's affected how refs call the game."

The PIAA may or may not bring the rule back; they first want to see the effect it's had around the state. Barring a significant differential in the number of cards given out -- and again, I acknowledge that I haven't seen any numbers yet -- I think they should do away with the rule.

"I can't see how five minutes is deterring or affecting a player or coach," Johns says. "I haven't heard anyone say, Oh, it's a whole five minutes.'"Š''

PLAYOFF TIME: Saturday is the last day of the regular season. The seeds and matchups for the District 4 playoffs will be announced Sunday, and the games begin next week.

In District 3, the playoffs begin Monday, Oct. 20.

RANKINGS: Here is this week's edition of The Daily Item District 4 Super Soccer 7 poll. Rankings and records are based on games played through Sunday. Each school's league affiliation, PIAA classification, and previous ranking are listed in parentheses.

GIRLS

1. Loyalsock (HAC-II, AA, 2) 15-1