Bobref

We are grieving. But in our grief, we find consolation in the words of the great man himself.

Welcome to the 21st century.

Mercy Rule timing never starts until the 2nd half.

The solution is simple. Donate and you won’t see the ads.

Post your questions, interesting observations, unusual rules situations, and yes, even constructive criticism, here.

I always look carefully.

Well, I haven’t seen the Referee’s report, so I don’t know if he said anything. But he clearly came in way late to the scuffle and delivered a two-handed shot to the chest of the opponent. Don’t recall if he took him off his feet, or just knocked him back a couple of yards.

I saw the video. There was a late hit out of bounds that generated a scuffle, nothing more. I believe there were several disqualifications, and EC’s #20 was among them.

The mighty, mighty Eagles crack the Top 10!

That would never occur to the opposing defensive coordinator. 😂🤣

Give the Linesman a little credit.

Better clean out that mailbox. Thanks for the heads up.

I love the train of thought, and I do agree that higher pay would probably help both recruitment and retention. The Colts are already the IHSAA’s biggest sponsor. Certainly the schools would never foot such a bill these days, let alone for a single sport.

You want outside the box? I’ll give you some outside the box. Recruit female football officials. More young women than ever are participating in athletics. And the opportunities for rapid advancement are there. We have had a woman officiate in the Super Bowl, and in major bowl games. Go to people who are already softball or basketball officials and recruit them for football. That, in addition to recruiting at the grass roots, e.g., just-graduated senior athletes.

Has the Hudl video been shared to the IFOA? Every school should do that, so that all officials will have that training resource available to them.

It can get pretty hectic there, especially when there are multiple substitutions, and people running in and out of the restricted area. We can’t play without moving them, so the basic rule is that they go where they need to go based on the situation, and everyone else yields the right of way. I’ve seen many occasions where things are so busy in the restricted area, such as a change of possession, that the chain gang has to go out on the field to get a clear path.

You can’t push the runner. Can’t be simpler. Admittedly, when you have a big scrum, it can be difficult to discern who is pushing who. That’s why the guys in stripes get paid the big bucks. 😉

Well, you can also be in contact with other offensive players. Just not the runner.

This has never been legal in high school football. In fact, in 2023, the National Federation has made it a Point of Emphasis. Here’s some language from the NFHS 2023 rulebook: ”Rule changes have been made at higher levels of football allowing offensive players to pile in behind and directly push the runner. Because of these changes, we are now seeing similar plays at the high school level. As guardians of the game, it is imperative that all stakeholders work together to remove “helping the runner” from our high school game. … Pushing the pile is legal; direct contact and pushing, pulling, lifting the runner is not.”

One of the things the Indiana Football Officials Association does to support its members in their never-ending effort to get better is produce and distribute a weekly training video. It has 10 or so video clips of plays from the preceding week’s games that illustrate mechanics issues, rules interpretations, and judgment calls. This video is distributed to the 700 or so members of the IFOA — most of the people you see wearing stripes on Friday nights. These weekly videos are an important part of our in-season training. The IFOA needs your help. On a given Friday night there are 150+ games. They produce a wealth of useful information for officials. The problem is finding those plays in that mountain of video. This is where you come in. If you had an unusual play in a game you saw, let us know about it by describing it on this thread. Let us know the game, the approximate point in the game when the play occurs, and a brief description. We’re interested in almost anything: onside kicks, pass interference, punt returns, goal line plays, big hits … the list goes on an on. Lots of people complain about officiating. Here’s your opportunity to do something about it. These videos help us to be better, more consistent. If you’re reluctant to mention a play openly, feel free to message me.

Agreed.

Hail to the Green and Gold! Hail, our Alma Mater! Praise her with voices bold With hearts that never falter. Hail, to dear Saint Edward High Keep her banners waving, Loyal sons in unity, Everlasting praise we sing.

The mighty, mighty Eagles roll on. 7-7 at halftime, but 3 straight TD drives to open the 2nd half, and that’s a wrap, 28-7. Hail to the Green and Gold! Hail, our Alma Mater! Praise her with voices bold With hearts that never falter. Hail, to dear Saint Edward High Keep her banners waving, Loyal sons in unity, Everlasting praise we sing.

I’ll take the split.

100%