Bobref

Go to game management and get them involved. I once was working at Jimtown - a place every official loves to work - and there was a guy from a local newspaper who insisted on standing right up next to the sideline. I had my linesman move him back. So he just went over to the other sideline and did the same thing. The line judge moved him, but the next play he was right back. So, I went over there and explained that this was a safety thing, and he had to stay behind the restraining line. His response: “I’m just doing my job. Why don’t you go back and do yours?” You can probably guess what happened next.

Then, I bet they marked the spot of the interception with a beanbag ... which is a mechanics error.

That actually could have been a correct enforcement, but only by coincidence. If the holding took place 10 yds. in advance of the spot of the interception during the return, enforcement would take it back to the spot of the interception. But that's not because that's where it's supposed to go, but because that just happened to be 10 yds. from the basic spot, i.e., the spot of the foul. You beat me to the punch by about 5 seconds.

Forgot about that. I really only look at Div. 1 & 2, since the schools I follow are St. Ed's, where I went to school, and Avon Lake, where I grew up ... to the extent I actually did grow up.

Sagarin’s Predictor is slightly different from the overall rating. The , is such that the score is the only thing that matters. is also known as , BALLANTINE, RHEINGOLD, WHITE OWL and is a very good of future games.

I’m headed down to North Carolina this week to see the Irish at Duke. Looking forward to some decent weather.

Sagarin’s Predictor has Penn at 80.85 and Warsaw at 72.93. Home field is worth 1.16 pts. Net differential is 6.76 pts.

Disappointing.

Penalty enforcement is black and white. There’s no judgment involved. You either get it right or you get it wrong.

As we move through the playoffs, fans (and coaches) are likely to see an increased emphasis by officials on sideline control. There are 2 reasons for this: The deeper we get into the playoffs, the better the officiating crews. And one of the hallmarks of the better crews is that they pay attention to details. Big Brother is watching, and by that, I mean the IHSAA. Sideline management and control is a HUGE point of emphasis with them. As an observer, I have strict instructions to downgrade crews who don’t keep their sidelines clean. So, perhaps a review of the applicable rules is in order. Let’s start with some definitions. The Team Box is an area that runs from 25 yd. line to 25 yd. line, and is a minimum of 2 yds. from the sideline. It extends as far back as there is room. All nonplayers, i.e., team members not in the game, trainers, statisticians, coaches, auxiliary game personnel, and any others affiliated with the team are supposed to stay in there. The Coaches’ Area is a belt that runs from 25 yd. line to 25 yd. line, and begins at the sideline and extends at least 2 yds., to the front edge of the team box. A maximum of 3 coaches are allowed in the Coaches’ Area when the ball is dead. No one else is allowed in the Coaches Area (except for officials). No ball boys, chain crew members, stats keepers, etc. They all have to be at least 2 yds off the sideline at all times. The Restricted Area is the same as the Coaches’ Area, except that the ball is alive. Absolutely no one except officials are allowed in the Restricted Area. No coaches, ball boys, chain crew members, anyone. Absolutely verboten. There is supposed to be a broken white line all the way around the field 2 yds. from the sideline (outside the team boxes), a continuation of the Restricted Area, which is off limits to everyone except the officials. Now that we’ve got terms defined, here are the rules that are implicated: A nonplayer shall not be outside his team box unless to become a player or to return as a replaced player. So, if a player in uniform ventures outside the team box, or a coach, or anyone else affiliated with the team, the sideline warning procedure is invoked. On the first violation, there will be a flag, but there is no distance penalty. The second violation earns a 5 yd. penalty. Third and subsequent violations are a 15 yd. penalty. No one can be in the restricted area when the ball is alive, except the officials. Violation starts the sideline warning procedure described above. if anyone is in the restricted area while the ball is alive, and makes unintentional contact with an official, that is a 15 yd. illegal personal contact foul. If it happens a second time, it’s another 15 yds. and disqualification of the head coach. Finally, no nonplayer, Coach, attendant, etc., is allowed on the field except during a charged or officials timeout, or the intermission between periods or after a score. Violation is a 15 yd. penalty. What about the very common practice of a coach coming a few steps onto the field to give the next play to his QB? By rule, it’s a foul. Now, most crews will let this go if it’s very brief, only a couple of steps, and the coach promptly retreats to the Coaches’ Area. But it’s important to realize the coach does this at the sufferance of the officials. It’s not an entitlement. And it shouldn’t be abused. 1 coach, a few steps, in order to communicate with a player, and very brief. Those are the sideline management and control rules. Unfortunately, they are too often honored only in the breach. This leads to a fair degree of inconsistency from crew to crew, which then leads to hard feelings from coaches when someone actually enforces the rules correctly. But that is likely to change as we advance further toward Thanksgiving weekend.

Yes, it’s especially hard to understand how 5 officials missed it. A crew is a team, and penalty enforcement falls on every member of the team. It only would have taken 1 crew member to speak up and save the crew. But too many officials turn their brains off and just leave penalty enforcement to the guy in the white hat.

Are you talking about overtime? If so, it would be 1st and goal from the 25 yd. line. In OT, the line to gain is always the goal line. No exceptions.

I saw both of these teams this year. Andrean was clearly better.

I’ve always heard that MD fans are among the most knowledgeable and loyal of high school football fans. From what I’ve seen on the GID, that’s true.

Sagarin has Penn a 7 pt. favorite.

Your friend in stripes needs to get with the program. No running clock possible until the second half.

It was actually closer than that. Penn stopped Portage at the 6” line on 4th down with less than a minute left in the 4th ... or we might be having this conversation in the “Upsets” thread.

Sherman and Mr.Peabody.

No. If the kickers are first to touch a kick beyond the neutral zone, that is referred to as “first touching.” This gives the receiving team the right to take the ball at that spot after the play is over ... unless a bunch of other things happen that didn’t happen here. But the ball remains alive after first touching.

Any kick that breaks the plane of the goal line is a touchback. Doesn’t matter who touched it or where. No exceptions. And a kick remains a kick until it is possessed or becomes dead by rule, e.g., out of bounds. Saw the video. Correctly ruled a touchback.

There is a vast difference - at least among officials - between incorrect calls, and “bad” calls. I don’t think that is appreciated by fans, players, or coaches, in general.

You know, I’m going to be in Bloomington for a couple of days later this month. That’s a heck of an idea. I’d love to meet The Man himself.

Seen a few of those. Always tough to watch. The key is if it’s only the fibula, and not the dreaded tib-fib fracture. The fibula is not a weight bearing bone, that’s the tibia. Uncomplicated fractures of the fibula almost always heal well. If he has surgery, though, that tells us it’s something else.

Honestly, football fans are the 2nd most paranoid people on the planet ... just behind football coaches. 😂🤣😅

No crew is perfect, but that’s a pretty good crew. Ranked in the top 25%. Got any video?