JustRules

The only one I'll add is R touches it beyond the expanded neutral zone and the ball ends up behind the neutral zone again, K can advance and will have a 1st down after the play as long as they have team possession after the play. They have the option to kick it again (yes, 2 kicks during the same play is legal but I don't see them doing that on an attempted FG), run it, or pass it! If they throw an incomplete pass it will be 1st and 10 at the previous spot. That's a very popular quiz question and rules discussion, but I've never seen it actually happen. You would almost definitely have linemen downfield if it's a punt because they would have released to cover the punt. If that happened it would be a 5-yard previous spot penalty and replay 4th down

Except in the instance of a playoff game last year when the crew went 1st and 10 from the 25. The team scored 7 plays later and won the game. I know the crew was devastated after the game when they realized their error and were not able to work a later playoff game they were scheduled to work. It's one thing to make a judgement error in a split second because those are subjective and not everyone will agree either way. To make a rules application error when you have plenty of time to think through it and get it right is hard to justify.

I personally think the best system would be to scrap the existing conferences and go with 8 team sectional assignments (8 team regional for 5A/6A). 7 of your games are against the other teams in your sectional and then 3 non-conference games. The top 4 teams in each sectional advance to the playoffs based on your sectional record. That way you can schedule whoever you want and it won't affect your playoff qualification except for maybe the 12th tie breaker criteria if needed. Then #1 from one sectional hosts #4 from the next sectional and #2 hosts #3. No computers or rankings. It's all based on what happens on the field. Teams are rewarded in both qualifying and hosting for a successful regular season. Because of geography you will have some better teams in one sectional/regional not make it because they have tougher competition in their area while a lesser team qualifies because of the competition in their area. This is no different than today with competition within a sectional. Getting over not having conferences any longer would be the biggest hurdle. If you can't get past that you will never support this model. I've lived where they don't have conferences and it was fine. But this is what people here are used to and people are generally resistant to change unless it benefits them.

Merrillville by chance? Very good crew!

Those are the same teams that never win a tournament game in the current format. Is that any different or better? Unless they draw another weak team which I think is the primary reason many coaches still support it and there isn't a rush to change it. With the random draw aspect there's a chance I could draw another weak opponent and get a tournament win. There were several examples of that last week and probably some in the 5A/6A this week. I was looking it from a different angle last night. If half of the 6A schools qualified and Sagarin was used to rank them, Columbus East would not qualify at 7-2 and neither would Penn at 5-4 or Columbus North at 5-4. But the matchup between Lawrence North (3-6) and Lawrence Central (2-7) features 2 teams who would have qualified. They would have played higher ranked teams though if the teams were seeded. Now they have a chance to advance to the sectional championship because they drew each other. In another sectional #1 is playing #2. Rather than ranking the top 16 though let's look at the top 4 in each regional. This is how they would shake out: Sectional 1/2 Warsaw at Lafayette Jeff Penn at Merrillville First out: Crown Point (73.18) Sectional 3/4 HSE at Carmel Homestead at Fishers First out: Westfield (92.99) Sectional 5/6 Zionsville at Avon Ben Davis at Brownsburg First out: Pike (79.19) Sectional 7/9 Lawrence North at Warren Central North Central at Center Grove First out: Lawrence Central (85.3) An interesting geographic note. Westfield would be out in the Sectional 3/4 regional, but they would be the #1 seed in the Sectional 1/2 regional and LC would be #3. Geography has it's privileges (or disadvantages depending on your perspective).

I just don't pay attention to the brand. I'm looking for the mark I put on the ball to make sure I have the right team's ball.

I don't pay attention at all to the brand of ball. I couldn't tell you what was used during or after any game. We see a lot more newer balls than aged ball so it probably depends on the school.

It's not unusual to have a play or two each game with the wrong team's ball. This is one example. The other is getting the wrong ball from the ball boy and not catching it. There is nothing that says a team has to use their own ball for any play. It says they may use any approved ball of their choice. If they don't notice before the play the ball isn't theirs they play with it.

My high schools was 2-3 hours to all our conference opponents. The varsity/JV always took charter buses to basketball games. We would get out of class at 2p for road games because we had to be there for the JV game. Sophomores played at 4p so they would get out at noon or 1p. I must have missed 100 classes over 4 years.

Indiana fans complain if they have to travel over an hour for a sectional game. If they have to travel 2-3 hours for a regional or semi-state. It's all perspective because in some states those distances are common for Tuesday night conference basketball games. Check out this road trip for the first round of the Montana HS football playoffs. https://www.montanasports.com/high-school/warm-up-the-bus-baker-owns-longest-road-trip-of-first-round

I had one where it snowed in the second half and it was much more pleasant than the first half. 45 degrees with a freezing rain and 40 mph wind was absolutely miserable. The players hated it too. It got cold enough around halftime it turned into snow which wasn't as wet. Most miserable I've ever been for a game.

If a player gets up and quickly gives the first down signal I'll talk to him and tell him to not do it again. If it's an extended signal it's likely a flag. If he does it again, it's likely a flag. Show enthusiasm and celebrate with your teammates. Signaling a first down is visible for everyone, calls attention to yourself and could be considered taunting because you are showing up your opponent by visibly telling them you got the first down. I don't remember if I have ever flagged a player for doing this because it's not common and if it did happen it was brief and they complied with the warning to not do it again. Preventative officiating helps keep the game flowing. Most fans would be amazed at how much conversation goes on between officials and players and how officials and coaches work together to manage sportsmanship issues. Coaches often tell us in pre-game to let them know if we are having issues with players and they will take care of it. Very rarely have I found they don't follow through with that offer.

That is what separates average crews from really good or great crews. Many crews don't spend the time attending clinics and meetings where these things are discussed so they aren't aware of it. Some crews may hear it, but it's hard to implement. When I watch HS games online or TV I see this kind of thing called a hold way too often. I see even less restriction called a foul. It helps understand why we have coaches screaming for holding because they are used to past crews calling it. If your crew isn't aware of this philosophy I strongly suggest you find a mentor or try to attend the IFOA clinic in the summer.

How could they be excessive if they were right? Do you want us to stop calling fouls because we've already called too many in a game? And you pretty clearly said they were incorrect because there were a lot of them and many more than any other Cathedral game. That's the fact Bob was pointing out. You may be 100% right that the calls were wrong. I have no idea since I didn't watch the game.

You are guys are making different arguments. He's not saying the calls were right or wrong. He's saying that just because a team had more fouls in one game compared to another or they had more fouls than their opponent that the officiating was bad. You may be right that the calls were wrong, but they should be judged on the calls themselves and not by number.

That is the only time I've ever been at Delta. I have since been told most teams don't go to the locker room at half because of the distance. I would think there is someplace closer they can go at halftime. At a minimum they should have made it a 20-minute halftime and had us start it late so they had a little time. Good luck this Friday! This is probably one of the best games in the state this week.

I was there that night! 2-3 minutes is generous. It was probably 5 minutes. When the 15 minutes expired and no sign of Mississinewa we went to get the team. We ran into a couple coaches part way there and they were surprised to learn time had expired. It had probably 0:00 for 5 minutes already at that point. Teams almost always have someone who sets their own watch. In addition to the 15-yard delay penalty there was also a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Mississinewa RB at the end of the half so Delta kicked from the +30. I'm surprised they didn't try an onside kick. That was probably my most miserable weather night on a HS football field.

It would be very unlikely for a ball to stay in the free blocking zone long enough for this to be legal. If the QB is under center, fakes the dive up the middle to the fullback, and then runs behind the LOS staying with 3 yards of the LOS there MAY be time for a pulling guard to cut a player who started on the line before the QB gets outside the tackle or pitches the ball to a back. But I would say that would be very unlikely. And this guard doesn't now if the QB still has the ball behind him or pitched it to another back so he risks committing a foul if he cuts. I saw your later post of the QB in pistol. Assuming he's more than 3 yards behind the LOS the ball will leave the FBZ during the snap. Rules do allow a lineman to cut immediately at the snap, but any delay will usually result in a foul.

He definitely can't cut him at that point. All low blocks are not allowed once the ball has left the free blocking zone. By saying jet sweep I assume QB is in shot gun so the FBZ disintegrates immediately and low blocks are only allowed if immediately at the snap. Low blocks also must be initiated by the someone on the line against someone else on the line. Based on that your LB should never be cut unless he moves up to the line prior to the snap..

Generally speaking any equipment not listed as legal or optional could be considered illegal. If crazy eye black is not allowed then I think this should probably not be allowed. A plain version would be different if it's extremely cold and you wear it to help keep warm. But I think allowing this version could open a huge can of worms. If ti's not illegal it should be.

It would be used very very rarely, but this would be a good example. Another one is the person on the bench who runs on to the field and tackles a runner who is clearly going to score. The foul itself is illegal participation and it would be enforced 15 yards from the end of the run by rule. But if you consider that to be a travesty you could award a score using this rule. Again, this rule is used very very rarely. I've never seen it used in any game I've worked or even considered it. But it does exist if you have something truly crazy happen.

Great read! For those of you looking to continue to stay involved with football after high school, please consider being an official. Even if you are planning to be a coach after going to college you do this during school. You'll make more money than most part-time jobs and you may find you love it! If you aren't going to college it's a great way to supplement whatever job you do get. Go to the IHSAA site and request more information or get in touch with the IFOA at http://www.ifoa.us.

It is but this is not in that context. I don't believe the NFHS rules specifically ban this act, but I would hope a crew would use travesty of the game to penalize this. The unsportsmanlike conduct rule has a list of automatics, but it's not all inclusive. Same with the NCAA rule, but this pops every couple years so the D1 officials (only place this seems to happen) have been told to flag this if they see it. The coaches should know also.

I do know it wasn't the same crew in both games.

I've always thought the all-in random draw format was the worst possible format out there. Then TIFootball comes along with a state championship from the bottom 64 teams in the state using some type of ranking. That is definitely worse. I'm glad he/she came around to the qualify and split option instead. Not great but better than his original option. There is no issue with overlap from one class to the next. It happens in NCAA as well. Not all D1 teams are better than D2 teams and not all D2 teams are better than D3 teams. There is overlap there as well. That's why I think enrollment is a good starting point. It puts teams into general categories. The success factor then does some adjustments for the top programs but also allows for corrections. It could be optimized, but in general I think it does a good job. I'm a fan of a qualifying tournament but ultimately I don't care that much about it. At the end of the season most of the kids who played HS football had very positive experiences and good memories. 10-20 years from now they'll remember the good times and learn from the bad times. I do challenge everyone to tell friends and family outside Indiana about the all-in random draw process, and I doubt any of them will say, "wow, that's a great and creative way to do this." They will most likely think you are kidding and nobody would ever come up with a system like that.