Running out the clock
In American football, each quarter of a game is measured with a 15-minute game clock, or 12-minute clock in many high school football codes and the German Football League. A team in possession of the lead and the ball will attempt to use up as much of the game clock as possible in order to bring the game to an end more quickly, thus denying the opposition another chance on offense.
National Academic League
There are also four quarters or rounds in a game. Each quarter is different from all the others in some way which will be explained below. The buzzer team competes in the first, second, and fourth quarters, but the buzzer team members may be different from quarter to quarter. The presentation team competes in the third quarter, and some may compete in the fourth quarter.