JustRules

There are many that do. Sadly I hear many officials use those terms as well. The other big one that is nails on a chalkboard - lateral. There is no such thing. It's either a forward pass or backward pass.

I watched the broadcast and the stands were both full with the one end zone full of coaches from around the state. I talked with several coaches at our clinic on Saturday, and they said it was a great event. Sounds like the players, coaches, officials, and fans who attend thought it was a great event.

They are probably one of the longest standing home school programs in the state. I remember officiating one of their first games about 10 years ago. Dedicated coaching staff with decent numbers for a program playing against weaker 1A schools. I would imagine if they are still playing, they have stability in organization.

I think he was saying the streaming options were doing a better job because they were broadcasting games live making it more difficult for WHMB/WHME to sell ads for tape delay broadcasts that likely lost viewers because they had already watched the live stream. I hope all sports fans understand the importance of advertising in a broadcasters ability to deliver content at little or no cost to the viewer.

I appreciate your interest as a broadcaster to try to learn and understand the rule. Just having the book won't be enough though. Many situations involve multiple rules, and you have to know all that apply. To do this you have to review and understand the rules. Having the rule book is a great first step though. Most announcers mean well when trying to explain rules to fans, but the first thing I learned when I became an official is announcers are the #1 source for incorrect rules knowledge. Unfortunately most fans (and even coaches and players) get their rules knowledge from announcers which makes it hard on officials when we actually apply them correctly. Good luck, and I hope you are able to gain a better understanding of the rules with a copy of the rule book. I wonder if your station couldn't contact the IHSAA and request a couple rule books. It's worth a shot! Thank you and good luck!

Bobref is correct. A big portion of the NFHS revenue is selling rule books so they don't provide them for free. The iHSAA distributes them to licensed officials as part of their dues every other year. I believe they provide them to coaches as well. But the IHSAA purchases them from the NFHS. They also provide us access to the NFHS portal that has a digital version that is only available through their app or the portal site.

And it's probably 5 D1 kids and 10-15 D2/D3 kids including kids who could play D2/D3 but choose not to for whatever reason.

That's a very good question. Some overzealous rules editor at the NFHS.

We've been allowing players to line up the so-called "no-mans" land for decades. As long as it's obvious which player is on the line and which one is a back I see no reason to inject too much technicality in this situation. It's never been something I've heard coaches or players complain about and fans have no idea what the actual rule says. It seems like a silly thing to be concerned about with a POE. It won't be hard to do, but why does it need to be done?

I really hope we don't get too technical on #2. It will create unnecessary problems especially if some crews get technical and others don't. The first few association meetings could be interesting and telling.

Some states have a true weekend "state" tournament the end of the tournament. You qualify through weekly conference/district/regional tournaments. But 8 teams qualify and play quarterfinal Thursday, semi-final Friday, and finals Saturday. Each class often has their own weekend so they are spread out or in different locations. It makes for a fun and exciting weekend. They will also play consolation rounds so each team still plays 3 games on the weekend.

A common approach is teams are placed into sections, sectional, districts by the state just like Indiana. Your schedule is largely determined by those categorizations plus whatever non-section games you play. You play everyone in your section/sectional/district and seeding is based on record within that group. The idea of conferences and long-term scheduling contracts don't exist. Certain teams qualify for the post-season based on the records with common opponents. There is either a section/sectional/district tournament or sections/sectionals/district play each other. For example, #1 in District A hosts #4 in District B and so forth. Teams still get to play their geographic rivals either because they are in their section/sectional/district or they schedule them directly. This is easier in sports that play more games, maybe a little more difficult in football with only 9 or 10 games.

Correct. But you were proposing if someone is breaking the waist of the nearest linemen, they should be a lineman. I was showing you why that doesn't work or what the result would be. The current rule works fine as it allows for the intent of the rule to be enforced. If 82 is on the end and breaking the waist of the snapper and the wideout or possibly a wing back is technically breaking the waist of the end but they are clearly in as a back then treat him as a back. Unless they are obviously on or obviously off, the official is going to put them where they are legal. This also most commonly done for two wideouts that are staggered. HS won't be as liberal as the "blade of grass" difference to make the formation legal, but if there is an obvious stagger between the two it's not something to be too technical with. The biggest issue is usually that T that cheats back too far or the teams who like to have the entire line as deep as possible. That's where warnings are usually given if they are close.

The issue is he's using the term "back" as a player wearing an eligible number and referred to as a running back on the roster. Roster positions do not exist in the rule book though. All offensive players are defined as either a lineman or a back (unless they are in no-man's land). #68 is clearly a back if he's lined up behind the QB in front of the tailback. He's a lineman on the roster, but by rule on that play, he's a back. He's not eligible due to his number, but by definition he's a back. And the WR lined up on the line of scrimmage because he's breaking the waist of the snapper is by rule a lineman. The other issue with the example cloudofdust is using is let's say the guard is breaking the waist of the snapper, he's a lineman. Then the tackle is breaking the waste of the guard but not the center, he's a lineman. Then the TE is breaking the waist of the T but not the snapper, he's also a lineman. If the LOS is the +20, you now have a TE lined up with his feet on the 16 but by his definition a legal formation. And the wideout on that side who needs to be a back is on or inside the 15. That's quite the V formation.

I agree. Random draw with all-in does still determine the ultimate champion. It's just a very odd way to do it. Nobody would ever come up with this system if they were creating a new system from scratch. We just have too many people who grew up in this system and feel it's the only logical way to do it. People are inherently resistant to change regardless of how crazy the current system is.