JustRules

I've never heard that caveat and from what I've seen it doesn't exist. It's based soley on the history of the crew chief and their history of advancement as a crew chief. There have been instances where the crew chief had worked a state final previously but now have a completely different crew. Because of that the IHSAA considers them a "new" crew rather than a returning crew. I can see the logic in that, especially since it's been several years since that crew chief worked a state final. I know two of the four consisted of officials who had never worked a state final and didn't have a lot of the advantages many of the other state final crew have (i.e. educators, former coaches, highly rated basketball/baseball officials). However they were mostly younger, fit and mechanically very solid crews who work a lot of big games in the Indy area. So it can be done. But it's rare.

I agree this portion of the process is not a major differentiator, but it does play a bigger factor than you are implying for crews that consist of 3 more members who worked the state final previously. You'll eventually get into the new/returning aspect of this for the later rounds but ultimately you are either "competing" with crews who have worked a state final or those who have not. 50% of the crews working regional and beyond fall either side of that difference. Most of the crews who feel slighted by the process are on the "new" side of that. The only way a crew gets all 50 points is if they have at least 3 officials who have worked a state final previously. If they've worked a semi-state they start with 49, regional 48, most of the rest 47. That 3-point difference can make a huge difference between crews who work a second round and sectional final. The crews getting regional, semi-state, and state final assignments are usually in the 48-50 range and have a little head start. This makes it easier for the "new" crews who have state final experience start that advancement faster. There are other factors which you'll get to later I'm sure, but I wanted to share my observations as well Many of the crews that don't get assignments or only get 1 round have multiple officials with less experience or fail to attend the required meetings or fail the test. The fact some crews have a head start isn't what is preventing them from advancing. There is a large group of officials stuck in the 2nd round and sectional final that have a hard time getting beyond those levels largely because their "competition" are those new crews that have multiple members with state final experience. It's not uncommon for 2 or 3 of the 3 "new" crews to have state final experience and not truly be new. Last year was a refreshing change. First, there were 4 new crews, and I believe 3 of them were truly officials working their first state final. 3+68/7

I was an official for that game. If they had a coach on the field communicating with the team he didn't do a very good job. We waited until the time expired and didn't see anyone coming in the distance so two of our officials started for the locker room. Near the back of the building we ran into two coaches walking toward the field. We told them they were already late for the second half and they were surprised. One of them ran back to the locker room with the official to get the team. So it was close to 20 minutes after halftime started and 5 minutes after the time on the clock expired before the team left the locker room. Mississinewa had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the first half so with the foul for coming out late, Delta was kicking off from the +30 to start the second half. We were surprised they didn't try an onside kick since Mississinewa would still have poor field position if they recovered it. That was one of the most miserable weather nights I've worked with temps in the 40s with strong winds and a cold rain. It was Halloween too as I recall. Mississinewa had a good team that year, but it was obvious the players were miserable with the weather.

Pike shows you can't take any team in the MIC lightly. LC gave Carmel a close game as well. A bad MIC team is still a really good team.

Did you have a situation where the crew ruled touchback? I hear that a couple times each season and the crew doesn't realize they got it wrong. If they did it would be considered an inadvertent whistle and the intercepting team can either take the result of the play at the time of the whistle (touchback in this case) or replay the down. They will likely take the result.

Fair is such a subjective term though. Generally in any assignment system I've seen those who don't advance consider the system unfair. States that use observers or association assigners for the post-season are accused of picking their friends or being an old-boys club. That doesn't exist in our system because a mass of people are voting for a mass of crews. A number is assigned to your crew based on those criteria and that number is used to a fault. There is some popularity involved, but it's not a small group of people picking the people they want. They kind of do go through the same process. Just like any new crew they are only eligible for a sectional final the next year. The one difference is they have a little head start on points because of past tournament experience. That's generally not why they advance further though. The bigger reason is because they often get 80-100 votes and you get maybe 20-30. The vast majority of those extra votes are going to be 5s because they are friendly votes from people who know them from various ways (other sports, school administrators, association leaders, assigners, etc.). That increases their rating much more than the 50 the other crew got for previously working a state final. It will be interesting to see if limiting the number of votes this year has an impact for some crews. Don't consider the advancement of your crew as an actual assessment of the time and effort you put into the season and quality of your performance. That's not what the current system is doing. Control what you can control and be happy for those who get to advance. They are working just as hard as you trying to be the best crew they can be. I'm not a fan of the current system at all, but I can't do much to change it.

The crew was notified the game was cancelled but Logansport is trying to find an opponent. I agree Concordia may be a good option.

Good stuff. That is essentially what we do. If a team doesn't indicate if they are taking a knee at the end of the first half or within 8 points at the end of the game, but they get in victory formation. I assume your guidance would be to do nothing? Treat it like a regular play?

North Decatur is now playing at Covenant Christian

If A informs us they are taking a knee I will tell B players "they plan to take a knee but the ball is still live. If they muff or fumble the ball is live and can be recovered." I also remind the A linemen to be ready to block. If it's the second half and the game is not in doubt I'll get into the middle to make sure nothing happens. There is no rule support to flag the offense for saying they are taking a knee and then running a play. The college play above would be legal, but I would expect the offense never told anyone they were taking a knee. They just made it appear they were taking a knee. B needs to be ready to defend the play.

If a crew gets only 7 votes the fact one of them is a 1 is not going to be factor in them advancing very far. Most crews get at least 20-30 votes. Some previously got 80-100 or more if they are well known. There is a new limitation this year allowing schools only to vote for crews who worked their games the last 3 years so the day of 80-100 votes for a crew are likely over. The previous process allowed all schools to vote for all crews with a request to only vote for those you've seen in the last 3 years. Now that will be system controlled based on the scheduled crews in Arbiter or Eventlink. But there is no requirement all schools vote for all crews. Since their ballots will be limited to that group though it's more likely most will get votes. I'm not sure if the ballot indicated to the school which game the crew worked. As for the goal, ultimately you want to make sure you are assigning the best crews with the later round games both for the benefit of the teams participating and rewarding the crews who are doing all the right things. There are many crews who do things the right way mechanically and manage the game well, but if they aren't well known they often do not advance beyond the first or second round. They may do all the things the IHSAA and observer program suggest and they work hard at being a good crew, but if they don't get the votes they don't advance. Meanwhile a crew that is well known often through non-football things like teacher/administrator or high level basketball official benefit from name recognition advances even though they don't follow standard mechanics and fail at administrative things like penalty enforcement. For the most part though the crews advancing the past several years are good crews. But there is no incentive for crews to get better because that will likely have little impact on their ability to advance. You want a system that will reward you for doing things the right way. That is much easier said than done. Best of luck to all the crews working the tournament. Be thankful for whatever games you work and congratulate those who are fortunate enough to advance.

Hard count is different as it's a commonly accepted part of the game, but if the QB makes a sudden movement while doing it then it's likely a false start. If they only do the other actions we've discussed on 3rd or 4th and short then it's different than doing on various 1st and 2nd downs throughout the game. The best example is the wing backs going in motion shortly before the snap. Most teams that do that use that formation and action throughout the game.

Doesn't matter if he's in or out of the pocket in regards to intentional grounding in high school rules. What was the previous spot? Where did they next spot the ball? If the foul was in the end zone the result is going to be safety whether the defense accepts or declines the penalty. They either enforced it from the wrong spot or felt he released the ball outside the end zone.

They are commonly allowed because they are commonly done. They shouldn't surprise anyone. The team that does a sudden snap down only on 3rd and 3 or 4th and 2 or on a try is done specifically to get the defense to jump. If you want to do the sudden snap down on every down then it's less likely to draw attention on 4th and 4.

Even for "new" crews there isn't a requirement to work semi-state the previous year. They just need to have worked a semi-state in a prior year with that referee. You could have worked a semi-state in 2018 and still be eligible to work state this year. The way it's worked out though there are only 3 or 4 "new" crews eligible each year so they are almost guaranteed to work state unless their vote turns out really bad. I think it would be wise for the IHSAA to have a more unbalanced split between new and returning crews in regional and semi-state if only to create more eligible crews. The only thing that changed this year is the number of schools who can vote for each crew. I believe all the other requirements and guidelines remain unchanged.

The last part has been true as long as I've been doing this. They are eligible every 4 years for state and can advance up to one level each year. It's possible a crew could go state - sectional final - sectional final - 2nd round - state if the votes fall their way. But they couldn't go State - Sectional Final - Semi-State - Regional - State.

Most crews get a first round game. These are usually announced the Friday of week 9. For following rounds they are usually related on the Monday or Tuesday before the game. No system is perfect and the Indiana system is far from perfect. There has been a change this year on the coach vote portion that could have an impact on many crews, but that will remain to be seen. Gone are the situations where some crews get 100+ votes and others get 20-30. As for the system being the reason officials are leaving, you realize there are only so many spots each week. No matter what system is used the same number of crews advance each week. Those who don't advance will be angry because they feel slighted. There is no system that would make everyone happy. That doesn't mean we shouldn't work through ISHOLA to get improvements to the system. But using the system as a reason for the change is not where we should focus.

If you are competing for sectional or regional champs in back to back years of a class you doing well in that class. Some of that has to do with the quality of teams in your sectional though. Not all sectionals are created equally.

Lots of judgement involved in this play and a fuzzy video from a bad angle. I can't tell exactly where the ball is snapped but based on the near wide out I'm going to say it's probably about the B9. The first thing to look at is the contact between the slot receiver and DB. The first question is that contact is in the neutral zone or close? If it it's in the neutral zone it's legal regardless of who initiated contact. If it's beyond and you determine the defense initiated it, then there is no foul. But in this situations the receivers are always suspect because the receiver is trying to create separation however subtly. And especially in this case it's obvious that's what he would want to do because they throw to the back who receives the pass in the area this defender may have covered. The ball appears to be caught near the B8 which is about a yard beyond the assumed LOS. Only the LJ is going to be able to rule on that. Since the B threw a flag I assume he felt the receiver initiated the contact downfield and the pass was caught beyond the LOS. He would need help from the LJ who should provide information on the location of the block (if he saw it) and definitely on the location of the pass in regards to the LOS. This is where the other part of your comment becomes relevant. The fact he came on to the field and was not on the goal line when the runner got close to hit hurts his credibility. It's very likely he didn't notice where the pass was caught and where the block took place. OPI is definitely a supportable call based on the information provided, but as I said there are several combinations of judgement here. Ultimately that is what the officials are paid to do and they applied that judgement here. It's not an absolutely right or wrong call. He has to make the best call based on what he sees and the information provided by others.

One of the reasons there is opposition is there are enough coaches who hold out hope they will draw another weak team in their sectional and get a tournament win. If they seed the sectionals it is much more likely they'll get paired with a top seeded team on the road and get blown out. I'm not sure how much of a factor that is, but I've heard coaches share this belief. Bobref has mentioned several times if they seed the sectional it will ultimately lead to a qualifying tournament. I think there is truth to that.

Usually the week after the tournament ends.

Mostly because the #1 or #2 team is done after week 1, but the 0-9 team who got a favorable draw gets to play another week. It's one thing if it happens on the field due to an upset. It's another if a 2 or 3 win team makes it to the sectional final because their side of the bracket had all 2 or 3 win teams. For very selfish reasons it's disappointing to get assigned to a sectional final game with a 9-2 team traveling to a 2-9 team. It's likely no fans will be there and you'll have a running clock in the second half. Where else besides Indiana high school sports are teams randomly assigned to opponent and location in a post-season tournament? Explain this to someone not from Indiana and they will think you are crazy and making it up. It's not logical. But it is what it is, and I'll be happy to get any tournament assignment I can get.

I think the only thing I would notice is if is extra tacky. The last item applied in the video was some kind of tacky spray. Did you possibly have too much of that on it, and it appeared to be some kind of foreign substance. As a reminder there is no such thing as a kicking ball in NFHS football. A ball you want to use for kickoffs should be willing to be used by your QB as well. He may end up with that ball in the course of a series. Teams will often try to indicate a certain ball is their kicking ball, but it's really just an approved ball they prefer to use for kicking plays if they have the ability to rotate it in. But never go to an official and say "this is our kicking ball." There are approved balls and unapproved balls.

Bob...I would a whistle here does change thing because it would only occur if the official is ruling forward progress stopped. That's something the defender isn't necessarily going to know on his own. This wasn't a progress situation, but if it was and this suplex came well after the whistle, I'm more inclined to consider ejection. If it's live, he's just trying to make a tackle. If it's dead, he's doing something that is even more unnecessary and flagrant. I'm slow to eject so I doubt I would ever determine this ejectable if t's a live ball foul. The rest of this game plus another game is a huge penalty, and I want to make there is no doubt what he did was flagrant. This doesn't happen often so I can see a player not knowing a suplex is consider UNR. This specfiic act is not discussed much because it's rare so I assume there are a lot of officials who wouldn't know it either.

Breaking the huddle with 12 if a foul in NCAA. Having 12 in the huddle is not. Unless they were there for more than 3 seconds without the 12th player leaving the field. It's not something to be overly technical about unless a team is getting a major advantage by doing it. If you have 12 participate in the play you definitely get it. If the defense is running off the field with the 12th player and they are not near the sideline call it. We had a play last week where the offense came from the sideline with 12. When I was getting my 2nd and 3rd counts I realized they were confused and trying to figure who had to leave. They did while doing my 3rd count and that player had to run from the other side of the field. It technically probably met the criteria of an illegal substitution but thanks to the substitution rule the umpire is able to stand over the ball to allow the defense to match up. And if the play clock expired during that time too bad for the offense.