JustRules

This is one of those things not specifically covered in the rule book. As you describe it though if the holder is making no attempt to continue the play and the defense has started to leave the field, it would be OK for the covering official to rule the play over. However, the defense/receiving team would get the ball 1st and 10 at the spot where the holder was when the down was declared over. I can't say if the crew handled the situation in your game correctly or applied good judgement, but it would be a judgement call on them. Ultimately this is something the crew should clear through the IHSAA though, as they are the ultimate rule interpreter for the state.

Carmel has a relatively down year but they are still a good football team that will beat a lot of other good 6A teams. Brownsburg can win in the tournament, but many of the 6A teams in Indy play really good teams each week, and it only takes one bad week to get beat. What Center Grove did winning 3 in a row is an amazing accomplishment. They could have won last year and could win this year. But there are a lot of other really good teams in their path. Just because they could lose in the sectional or regional doesn't mean they aren't a good team. Westfield has proven the last 3 years they are good enough to compete with the big boys and could be looking at 3 straight state titles coming into this year. There are probably 5 or 6 teams that could win state in 6A this year and it wouldn't surprise me.

Both plays clearly look to have been snapped at the 4. Not sure where you are seeing the ball was snapped at the 5.

If they don't have hashes marked on the field, the crew should place the ball 3 yards outside the hash if it's a hash spot.

The first thing I realized when I became an official was I had previously gotten most of my rules knowledge from announcers on games. And while they don't intentionally do it, they give out a lot of bad information. Many I know try to get it right and ask a lot of questions when scenarios happen. But if they don't know they are wrong they will continue to give bad information. This happens at all levels, even with the best announcers.

Haven't seen the stats, but it appears they did OK.

One of the biggest issues with fans (and sometimes coaches and players) is they assume NFL and NCAA rules apply on Friday nights. When we hear fans complaining about calls using NFL or NCAA rules, we just shake our heads. You lose a lot of credibility very quickly when you do that. Glad you sought understanding here.

I agree this could be a big issue. The IFOA just sent a notice for a couple games and I've received several texts or emails from others looking for officials. We have a fighting chance if the games are spread out over time and not all try to play at noon. The officials from up north can make some money tomorrow if they want to travel south! 50-60mph winds can create a lot of damage and dangerous situations. Many may remember the bleachers at Center Grove getting blown into the goal posts and knocking them over back in August. Power outages are expected tonight as well. It's not a stupid idea to put safety first and wait until tomorrow. Has nothing to do with actual playing conditions.

No such thing as "uncatchable" in the NFHS rule book. Even the NFL and NCAA threshold for "uncatchable" is pretty high. It's even higher for high school. The officials aren't looking to throw flags, but if the foul is there, it's there.

Coaches have told me it's because the kick will be coming out much lower than a punt. Have your entire DL put up their arms and it's much more likely to get blocked. Or the low kick to just hit the linemen. You are correct if your defensive plan is to only have one jumper try to block the kick.

You are definitely overestimating the coach's knowledge of the rules. The coaches have a good basic understanding of the rules, but they don't study the rules like officials do. This type of play is a great example. I expect there are many coaches who aren't aware of this rule, because it's never come into play. But when officials talk about rules, we talk about scrimmage kicks and free kicks. Both punts and FGs are scrimmage kicks, and rules apply to both the same other than the fact one can score. I don't expect coaches to be rules experts, but I do expect them to respect my rules knowledge and most do. I've asked coaches this question before and their answers match what others have posted. It really doesn't make sense to do this if you don't have a remote possibility of making the FG because you could accomplish the same thing with a punt. But if your kicker has a range of 45 yards and you have a chance to make a 50-yarder, it makes sense to attempt a FG because hopefully the result of a miss would be a touchback. If you are well out of your range, the risk of a long return is too great. This play would not have worked as well if the return team had a player down there to catch/recover the kick and have any kind of return.

At quick glance, I've had a few that don't exist. Did a lot more IPS early in my career. Anderson Highland Anderson Prep Academy Broad Ripple Arlington Manual Marshall Northwest Muncie South FW Elmhurst

I track all the varsity games I've worked. Based on that spreadsheet, I've officiated 179 schools. I've probably seen more if you count some games I've attended including the state finals. Probably closer to 200.

There have been games the past several years moved to Thursday or Saturday due to a lack of officials. It's not common, but it has happened. It's usually because early in the season a school finds out the crew they hired has disbanded or double booked and they no longer have a crew. They don't want to wait to see if some become available so they change the date.

Saw this in a college game yesterday as well. The NFL rule is different though if the foul is part of continuing action of the live ball play.

This video went viral last weekend. The official is an Indianapolis official and only 5 years ago was still a high school referee. He was promoted to the MAC this year, and I believe this was his first game in a B1G stadium. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_UkTzHMsGx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Several years ago a DB was burned on a deep pass for a TD. When he came to the sideline, his coach asked him what happened. He told the coach "I came up because they were running the option." The coach replied in surprised anger, "the pass is one of his options!"

The reason teams do this is they expect the receiving team (defense) to try to block this gunner/receiver thus resulting in a DPI flag. It's very possible the back judge has no idea this is a pass instead of a kick because their focus is downfield. They could flag the gunner/receiver for DPI if they make contact with the deep receiving team member or field the ball with a receiving team member in the area (also KCI). Obviously the R and probably the H would report it was a pass and the flag picked up. The NCAA rule absolve the receiving team of any DPI in this situation

This is not something shared publicly. You would have to ask someone assigned to the game or the AD/assigner for the school. For Open Assign games you can see who is assigned until the game is filled or removed.

It's possible the youth league has supplemental rules for something like this and wants it enforced that way. But as others have said, under NFHS rules the TD counts. NCAA used to be this way until a few years ago when they made UNS a regular live ball foul to curtail this type of activity. It's not common in HS but I would not mind this rule change.

Thank you for sharing. I had not heard that. James was a great guy who has given so much to officiating in Indiana and the Midwest. RIP James!

I will add though you are not required to attend meetings for tournament eligibility. That requirement only exists for crew ratings. As Bob stated though, meeting attendance is important for learning purposes. I do think working snaps though is equally important especially the middle school snaps for a new official. That's where the weird stuff happens that helps you learn the rules even better.

R has first choice since they have the ball at the end of the down and did not foul before gaining possession. If they accept K's foul, K has no option and the half is extended for an untimed down. If R declines K's foul, then K has options. If they accept R's foul then the half is extended and R gets one untimed down after penalty enforcement. I doubt K would take that option. If they decline then the half is over because there is no accepted penalty. Ultimately R can choose to replay the down (I assume K would just take a knee to end the half) or allow the half to end. As the R I would push to have the latter option happen because there will be no meaningful play regardless. If it's the end of the game, and R is behind by less than a score, they may want to force K to snap it in case they muff the snap and they could get a scoop and score.

It's good to have one that can do multiple functions. You may have to keep track of the game clock (the count down setting works best here) but then also time the time outs. Having a separate function for that is helpful if someone else doesn't have a watch. That's why it's always good for everyone to have a stop watch even if you aren't an official that needs one.

Correct. If the ball broke the goal line plane at any point, it would be a dead ball and ruled a touch back. If he kept it from breaking the plane, then it would be the receiving team's ball at the spot of first touching or where it became dead. The receiving team will take the better spot. Let's say he batted it back at the one and the kicking team downed it at the 5 (also technically a spot of first touching), the receiving team would take it at the 5.

Pretty good summary of the rule. R does lose the right to take the spot of first touching if they commit a foul after the first touching or any penalty during the down by them is accepted. Free kicks (kickoffs) are the same as scrimmage kicks in this regard so the same rules apply. It's where teh ball is not where the player is.