Bobref

Evidently. All I know is it was The Jungle, and it was a heck of a drive from NWI.

Do you remember your last IW? Of course you do! I remember mine.

Two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls by a player is a mandatory disqualification, requiring a written report to Asst. Commissioner Faulkens before the sun comes up the next morning, resulting in the player also being disqualified from playing the next week.

The real dilemma for the officials come when the Victory Formation protocols are not met, e.g., the lead is only 8 pts., but the offense comes out and tells you “we’re taking a knee.” What do you do then?

If that’s the case, the crew that failed to report is risking exclusion from the tournament.

I was at The Jungle a couple years ago. Very nice facility, and really nice, capable people. Great atmosphere. The casino across the street doesn’t hurt … 😉

Thanks, but I and all the other officials contributing on these issues simply feel that the more educated coaches, players, fans, media, etc., are about officiating, the more appreciated officials would be. Usually, the people most critical of officials are also the most uninformed.

Not a bit. And, of course, the Manual wasn’t written for MS.

This is a point I try to hammer home to officials on the way up. By doing things the right way, you can earn the benefit of the doubt, which makes life on the field so much better.

What I’ve given you is also a way to recognize a proficient crew when you see one, regardless of whether people are b*tching about foul calls or no calls. Crews are going to be critiqued by everyone anyway. I’d just like to see them critiqued fairly.

The cardinal rule is that you do not blow the whistle without actually seeing the ball dead, i.e., out of bounds or down in a runner’s possession. Don’t see the ball, don’t blow the whistle. Some crews have more whistle discipline than others. Keep in mind, the only time the whistle makes the ball dead is when it is blown inadvertently.

FYI, this is the portion of the Officials’ Manual that deals with Victory Formation. “3. When Team A is ahead by 9 or more points and can take a knee(s) to run out all of the remaining game clock, the officials will request Team A to declare its intent on whether they will be taking a knee. If Team A indicates they will be taking a knee, U and R will instruct all players that the play will be over immediately after the snap, and that all players should avoid contact, on pain of a foul and potential disqualification. However, if the snap is muffed, all bets are off, and it’s play football. 4. If the offensive team declares that they will be utilizing the Victory Formation to take a knee, and runs any offensive play other than a kneel down, the officials will rule this an unfair act under Rule 9-3-1, allowing R to enforce any penalty deemed equitable under the circumstances. This does not apply if the snap is muffed. a. In most cases replaying the down at the previous spot and resetting the game clock is an adequate remedy. b. Of course, Team B retains the right to decline the penalty and accept the result of the play. 5. If the offense muffs the snap or fumbles the ball while in Victory Formation, the ball is live and can be recovered and advanced by either team, as if Team A had not been in Victory Formation.”

I originally posted this in the Officiating sub-Forum, but noticed that almost all of the activity was by other officials. The post is written for non-officials, so I moved it here in hopes of getting more looks. So, you go to your local school’s game Friday night. You see the officiating crew, but it’s unlikely you know anything about them. Are they good? Mid-pack? Novices thrown together for the occasion due to the shortage of officials? Here are some things to look for that observers see a lot, unfortunately. There are lots of little nuances that someone trained in officiating can spot, but you’re not going to appreciate. But here are 10 things you can notice from the sidelines, the stands, or perhaps even on TV or streaming, that will tell you whether this is a good crew that pays attention to detail or not. They are, in no particular order of priority or frequency: 1. Do the wing officials “square off” their forward progress spots? Proper technique, other than in goal line situations, is to trail the play up the sideline to the forward progress spot, and then move in perpendicular to the sideline. If that wing official’s route to the spot looks like a banana, that’s a sign of lack of attention to detail that doesn’t bode well for other calls. 2. Does the crew make timeouts look like a local officials’ association meeting? Everyone on the crew has a specific job to do during a dead ball interval. That is not the right time for the crew to all get together and chew the fat. 3. Is the sideline clean? IHSAA officials are under a very clear mandate to properly manage the sidelines. This means no coaches on the field itself at any time, except during charged or injury timeouts, and no one in the 6 ft. “restricted area” when the ball is alive. All coaches are fully aware of this. If the crew is lax in its enforcement of this directive, it’ll likely be lax in other areas as well. 4. Is the goal line covered? Goal line officiating is probably the greatest challenge for a 5-person crew. There is a complex set of mechanics associated with goal line officiating, but they all boil down to one thing: having someone on the goal line in a position to rule on a TD. It’s not easy, and it’s not always possible. But if a kid scores on an off tackle run from the 4 yd. line, and the wing official signaling the TD is at the 2, that’s a real problem. 5. Watch the two officials under the crossbar on a scoring kick (try or field goal). Are they talking to one another before the snap (they are supposed to be identifying eligible receivers and communicating that to one another)? Do they have to look at one another before signaling the kick? They shouldn’t. If the kick threatens an upright, and is above the top of the goalposts, does only the official on that side signal the kick? When both officials signal, do they do it in unison? Attention to details like these spills over into other areas of officiating. 6. Proper use of the beanbag is another such detail. Does the back judge use a beanbag to mark the spot where every punt ends, even if there’s a fair catch, or the ball is downed by the kickers? When the ball is fumbled, do the officials mark the spot of the fumble with a beanbag? Do they refrain from using the bag for marking the spot of a fumble behind the LOS? If a kick was “first touched,” did they mark that spot? 7. What happens during penalty enforcements? All 5 crew members have specific duties during the administration of penalties. Are all the officials moving with purpose? Or is administration left to the Referee and Umpire, while the other 3 crew members just sort of wander around? 8. Does the crew hustle? I see a lot of walking around some Friday nights. That sort of body language can be interpreted as lack of engagement, which can be fatal to your credibility. Good officials avoid it like the plague. 9. How many whistles blow at the end of the play? On most plays, two are plenty. One is better. Too many whistles means too many officials watching the ball … and not paying attention to other responsibilities. 10. How does the crew handle the ball? Proficient crews use well-established ball handling procedures designed to get the ball back in play as efficiently as possible. It’s done with a minimum of delay, and the ball doesn’t spend any time on the ground. Realistically, you cannot evaluate the crew’s performance in many areas without formal training and a better vantage point. But these 10 things to watch for will give you a pretty good idea of what you’re dealing with as a crew.

Look in the Manual. It describes the procedure for officiating “Victory Formation.” Prevents this foolishness.

Sorry, I meant Judge Hanlon. Found the error too late to edit.

“So I assume the ACLU decided to file the lawsuit in Owen County because they thought that Ms. Hanlon would be more sympathetic to issuing such a preliminary injunction, than if they say filed the lawsuit in Marion County or Allen County?” The case was actually filed in Monroe County. Judge Owen was assigned the case under Indiana’s procedure that allows parties to obtain a different judge than the regular sitting judge under certain circumstances. Either the parties agreed to Judge Hanlon, or she was selected under a more or less random procedure. She was not sought out by the Plaintiffs.

How long do you have?

So, you go to your local school’s game Friday night. You see the officiating crew, but it’s unlikely you know anything about them. Are they good? Mid-pack? Novices thrown together for the occasion due to the shortage of officials? Here are some things to look for that observers see a lot, unfortunately. There are lots of little nuances that someone trained in officiating can spot, but you’re not going to appreciate. But here are 10 things you can notice from the sidelines, the stands, or perhaps even on TV or streaming, that will tell you whether this is a good crew that pays attention to detail or not. They are, in no particular order of priority or frequency: 1. Do the wing officials “square off” their forward progress spots? Proper technique, other than in goal line situations, is to trail the play up the sideline to the forward progress spot, and then move in perpendicular to the sideline. If that wing official’s route to the spot looks like a banana, that’s a sign of lack of attention to detail that doesn’t bode well for other calls. 2. Does the crew make timeouts look like a local officials’ association meeting? Everyone on the crew has a specific job to do during a dead ball interval. That is not the right time for the crew to all get together and chew the fat. 3. Is the sideline clean? IHSAA officials are under a very clear mandate to properly manage the sidelines. This means no coaches on the field itself at any time, except during charged or injury timeouts, and no one in the 6 ft. “restricted area” when the ball is alive. All coaches are fully aware of this. If the crew is lax in its enforcement of this directive, it’ll likely be lax in other areas as well. 4. Is the goal line covered? Goal line officiating is probably the greatest challenge for a 5-person crew. There is a complex set of mechanics associated with goal line officiating, but they all boil down to one thing: having someone on the goal line in a position to rule on a TD. It’s not easy, and it’s not always possible. But if a kid scores on an off tackle run from the 4 yd. line, and the wing official signaling the TD is at the 2, that’s a real problem. 5. Watch the two officials under the crossbar on a scoring kick (try or field goal). Are they talking to one another before the snap (they are supposed to be identifying eligible receivers and communicating that to one another)? Do they have to look at one another before signaling the kick? They shouldn’t. If the kick threatens an upright, and is above the top of the goalposts, does only the official on that side signal the kick? When both officials signal, do they do it in unison? Attention to details like these spills over into other areas of officiating. 6. Proper use of the beanbag is another such detail. Does the back judge use a beanbag to mark the spot where every punt ends, even if there’s a fair catch, or the ball is downed by the kickers? When the ball is fumbled, do the officials mark the spot of the fumble with a beanbag? Do they refrain from using the bag for marking the spot of a fumble behind the LOS? If a kick was “first touched,” did they mark that spot? 7. What happens during penalty enforcements? All 5 crew members have specific duties during the administration of penalties. Are all the officials moving with purpose? Or is administration left to the Referee and Umpire, while the other 3 crew members just sort of wander around? 8. Does the crew hustle? I see a lot of walking around some Friday nights. That sort of body language can be interpreted as lack of engagement, which can be fatal to your credibility. Good officials avoid it like the plague. 9. How many whistles blow at the end of the play? On most plays, two are plenty. One is better. Too many whistles means too many officials watching the ball … and not paying attention to other responsibilities. 10. How does the crew handle the ball? Proficient crews use well-established ball handling procedures designed to get the ball back in play as efficiently as possible. It’s done with a minimum of delay, and the ball doesn’t spend any time on the ground. Realistically, you cannot evaluate the crew’s performance in many areas without formal training and a better vantage point. But these 10 things to watch for will give you a pretty good idea of what you’re dealing with as a crew.

The confusion arises because (1) field goal attempts are not all that common … especially in JV games, and (2) under the NF code, a kick try fails and the play is dead when the kick is blocked. That’s why varsity crews remind one another before a field goal attempt that “the ball remains alive.” Not an excuse, just an explanation.

My understanding is that a punt was blocked, picked up by a Team K player behind the neutral zone, and he punted it again. Actually, you can do that at any level of football. It’s not a “weird” high school rule.

I’ll be at the Portage - Chesterton game. Anyone else going?

First, I’d let someone else wear the white hat ….

My observation from the first couple of weeks: eventual Super Bowl champ will be the winner of the AFC championship game between Buffalo and Kansas City, just as the eventual MVP is between Allen and Mahomes.

The “crew” system was implemented in the early ‘80s, and has been the standard since then. There are occasional “pickup” crews patched together out of necessity to cover a game on relatively short notice. With the shortage of officials, however, it is happening more frequently.