Bobref

It was noticeable, and it is not the preferred way of doing it. Generally speaking, high school officials have to use a field microphone maybe once a season. Most don’t run into it at all. So, they are not entirely comfortable with the process. The preferred announcement would be: “Prior to the snap, false start on the offense. 5 yd. penalty. Still first down.”

Although it pains me mightily to do it, @temptation, fair is fair.

Post your observations here about the Finals experience. What was good, and bad? Suggestions for the future. What went right and what went wrong. What could be added to the weekend next year? I saw all 6 games. My takeaway was that the officiating was very good. Some games better than others. No one worked a perfect game. But unless I missed something, there were no significant controversies, and officiating had no bearing on the outcome of any game. Now I can uncross my fingers … until next year.

From your lips to God’s ear. As always, today is a great day to be an Eagle!

Sure looking that way so far!

I have great admiration for the Chatard program. Seen them numerous times over the years, a few of them up close and personal. Never seen them give anything but an all out effort. Always well coached. Consistently punch above their weight. Take on all comers. And their “standard” is nothing less than excellence. Congratulations to them!

No one has been a bigger and more consistent critic of the coaches’ vote process, and its lack of useful information that officials can use to get better, than I have, even though my crew was very successful under the system. Whether you wait 7 minutes or 7 weeks to get your results, they tell you nothing useful. I’m more empathetic to your situation than you know.

Yes, the flag was for defensive pass interference. The back judge did not know the ball was tipped and he threw the flag for early contact. After communication from the official who saw the pass tipped, they waved off the DPI. This was a very well officiated play. You’re correct. You can still have a personal foul when the pass is touched.

In several different threads, as well as in conversations, the terms “personal foul” and “unsportsmanlike conduct” are sometimes confused, or even used interchangeably. A lot of people may say that’s not a big deal, both are 15 yd. penalties, so it doesn’t really matter what you call it. I beg to differ. Since there can be significant differences in both enforcement and disciplinary consequences between the two fouls, it is really important to get the right foul called. Personal fouls are contact fouls. They must involve one of 3 types of forcible contact: excessive (e.g., body slamming a runner who has clearly been stopped), unnecessary (e.g., the cheap block 20 yds. behind the play), or a type of contact illegal by rule (e.g., grabbing the facemask, horse collar). Personal foul penalties can be enforced from the previous spot, the succeeding spot, the end of the run, or the spot of the foul, depending on who committed the foul, where and when it was committed, status of the ball, and other factors. Unlike basketball, you don’t “foul out” of a football game because you’ve accumulated a certain number of personal fouls. Disqualification occurs only if a personal foul is deemed “flagrant,” i.e., “a foul so severe or extreme that it places an opponent in danger of serious injury…” All personal fouls are signaled using Signal 38. If the foul occurred while the ball was dead, Signal 38 is preceded by Signal 7. If the personal foul involved a prohibited type of contact, the signal sequence ends with the signal for the particular type of prohibited contact, e.g., Signal 25 (horse collar), Signal 26 (blindside block). Unsportsmanlike conduct is a non contact foul. It covers a multitude of sins, from taunting, to excessive celebrations, to bad behavior toward the officials. Regardless of when, where, or by whom a USC foul is committed, it is enforced like a dead ball foul, i.e., enforcement is from the succeeding spot. Any player or non-player who accumulates two USC fouls is automatically disqualified. If it’s a coach, he must leave the playing area and have no contact with the team for the remainder of the contest. The IHSAA also enforces a 1 week suspension of anyone so disqualified. The officials are required to turn in a written report to the IHSAA of any incident in which a player is disqualified or a member of the coaching staff, administration, etc., is assessed a USC foul. Because all USC fouls are penalized as dead ball fouls, it is not necessary to precede the unsportsmanlike conduct signal (Signal 27) with the dead ball signal (Signal 7). I’ve included a link to the NF Football Signals Guide. https://www.nfhs.org/media/4016213/2022-nfhs-official-football-signals-final-3-9-22.pdf

It was not an unsportsmanlike foul. It was a personal foul for targeting, helmet to helmet contact against a defenseless player. By rule, a defenseless player is one “who, because of his physical position and focus of concentration, is especially vulnerable to injury.” The pass receiver here qualifies. The onus is on the player initiating contact with a defenseless player to avoid illegal contact. “Targeting is an act by any player who takes aim and initiates contact against an opponent above the shoulders with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulders.” So, this would have been a foul even if the receiver had caught the ball.

Eagles b*tch slap Gahanna Lincoln, 31-7. They will play Springfield — upset winner over Moeller — for the Div. 1 title next week. Ironically, I attended and played for St. Edward, but I was born in Springfield. Small world.

I’m not disagreeing with you. But as a matter of logic, since the system is “not a real good model of feedback,” how can you conclude that lack of advancement is tied to enforcement of uniform rules?

Kudos to the Ft. Wayne community. Carroll travels very well.

I can neither confirm nor deny that he had on a pink tinted visor.

Sigh ….

This crew has 4 officials who have worked state finals before, including the Referee. They are from Central Indiana. I thought they got all the big calls right. They picked up (disregarded) two flags, both as a result of excellent crew communication and teamwork, a real sign of a good crew. They had some really excellent calls and no-calls. There were a few minor things that could be tweaked, but this was clearly a state finals worthy crew, who had a fine game. After I met with the crew following the game, Asst. commissioner Faulkens asked me “How did they do?” My response was “Officiating had zero impact on the game.” He said, “that’s what we like.”

Funny you should ask that. There is no mandatory disqualification for targeting in high school like there is in NCAA. However, a targeting foul where contact is initiated with a helmet above the shoulders of a defenseless player can be a candidate for a flagrant foul, resulting in disqualification. I was the observer on this game, and I discussed this very question with the crew after the game. After a thorough discussion, we all agreed that the hit, although there was a lot of contact, should not have been considered “flagrant.” So, IMO the crew got it exactly right … except the Referee gave the personal foul signal (#38), but omitted the signal for targeting (#24).

9 + 6 = 16😵‍💫🤪

The only thing senseless was the guy Bowen hit in the head.

Both good calls. On the OPI, the slot receiver blocked downfield before the wideout caught the pass. The personal foul should have included the “targeting” signal. Targeting is not an automatic ejection in high school. But it was clearly a blow to the head of a defenseless player. Andrean just getting out-executed at pretty much every position on the field.

I will be meeting with the crew in the locker room after the game, near the visiting team’s field entrance, but not until 20 min. or so after the game. Meet at the field entrance right after the game?

I will. I’ll be in radio booth #2 for the game.

I’m an observer on the 2A game, so I’ll post observations from the pressbox.

Don’t you know that Indiana is unique? We can’t learn anything by looking at what other states do. (See playoff qualification/seeding discussions.)

Lakewood St. Edward football community gathers after Thanksgiving practice in preparation for tomorrow’s semifinal. As always, today is a great day to be an Eagle!