Officiating & the State Finals

[Bobref]

This thread is intended to embrace all things officiating related to the Finals. Among the more obvious topics are:

1. Any special rules or procedures in effect for the Finals.
2. Questions or observations on rules or situations that may come into play, based on the teams involved, their tendencies, style of play, etc.
3. In-game, post-game, or between game questions about rules, a specific play, etc.
4. Observations by officials in-game, pointing out things that non-officials might not notice, or be aware of.

I’ll be in the pressbox or on the field most of the weekend, and will post from there.

Fans, here’s your chance for live action venting about officiating issues that arise, or have arisen with your team in the past. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Bobref

[JustRules]

We have 6 very good crews working in the finals this weekend. 2 are working their 4th state final and 2 are working their 2nd. The other two are considered new crews, but most members on both crews have worked a state final with a different crew chief. This doesn't mean they'll get every call 100% right, but there is a good chance they will have excellent games. Looking forward to seeing all of them work.

[Bobref]

7 hours ago, JustRules said:

We have 6 very good crews working in the finals this weekend. 2 are working their 4th state final and 2 are working their 2nd. The other two are considered new crews, but most members on both crews have worked a state final with a different crew chief. This doesn't mean they'll get every call 100% right, but there is a good chance they will have excellent games. Looking forward to seeing all of them work.

All 6 of the crews working this year’s State Finals are crew members of the Indiana Football Officials Association. That is by no means an accident.

[Bobref]

At the finals, there are always 6 officials in uniform, although only a 5 man crew works the game. The alternate is used if anyone goes down during the game. The alternate also serves as the 6th official on any scoring kicks, going under the crossbar with the back judge, so that both wing officials can maintain their positions on the line of scrimmage. For the first time this year, the IHSAA mandated the use of an alternate at the Regionals and Semistate, in addition to the State Finals. Also, for the first time this year, the crews are allowed to choose their own alternate (within limitations). Previously, the crew was stuck with whomever the IHSAA decided to designate as the alternate official. The present system is a big improvement. True story: I worked the Penn - Warren Central final in 2003, and my linesman went down late in the first quarter with a pulled hamstring. We had to work 3/4 of the game with the alternate official, whom we had laid eyes on for the first time about an hour before kickoff. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), the game was not close.

[Bobref]

8:06 of the 2nd period in the 1A game. That linesman did a heck of a job hustling to the pylon on the AC touchdown pass. Ball was snapped at the 13 or so. Not easy to read and react that quickly. Nice goal line mechanics.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Bobref

[refabee]

Seems to be 7 officials on this 1A game. They always you can see better from the stands.

[Bobref]

43 minutes ago, refabee said:

Seems to be 7 officials on this 1A game. They always you can see better from the stands.

Just another officiating groupie.

[Bobref]

 I don’t know what the AC fans are booing about. That was only a sideline warning: first warning = no distance penalty. And it was definitely the right call.

[Bobref]

Let’s see how the crew handles the upcoming onside kick.

[Bobref]

2 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Let’s see how the crew handles the upcoming onside kick.

Good no call on a potential illegal pop up kick.

[Yuccaguy]

Great job by the 1A crew, IMO!  At this point of the tournament if we have "officials in the stands" that know .ore than those on the field.... good luck!

No one is going to be perfect.  But 1A was damned close!  Wonderful 

[oldtimeqb]

I thought the 3A white hat looked familiar. He officiated the Brebeuf - Ev Memorial 3A final in 2017. Six years to the day. 

Congrats to him and his crew. 

[Bobref]

1 hour ago, Yuccaguy said:

Great job by the 1A crew, IMO!  At this point of the tournament if we have "officials in the stands" that know .ore than those on the field.... good luck!

No one is going to be perfect.  But 1A was damned close!  Wonderful 

They had a very nice game.

[Bobref]

Really nice catch by the Umpire on the blindside block on the Chatard interception return. 

[gindie]

What gets discussed when all the officials get together around the 5 yard line after each score?  I've seen it in both games.

Also, I see a Parker in the 2A crew.  Any relation?

[Bobref]

22 minutes ago, gindie said:

What gets discussed when all the officials get together around the 5 yard line after each score?  I've seen it in both games.

Also, I see a Parker in the 2A crew.  Any relation?

The brief meeting before the free kick is simply to check with each crew member to see if there are any issues that need to be addressed. Or to discuss a game situation coming up, such as an onside kick.

And yes, that's my younger brother.

[Bobref]

Very nice game by the 3A crew. Two games down and no officiating controversies. 🤞

[Bobref]

5A crew looks great through the 1st quarter. This is one of the very best crews in the state, and it shows.

[Yuccaguy]

I cannot say how fantastic the officiating has been so far.  I'm sure there will.be others who will say otherwise...but it's damned wonderful to this point. 

[gindie]

Regarding the play on the field, I was surprised they went almost 2 1/2 games today without a lost fumble.

5A crew was great, in my lay opinion.  The DC people on my side thought a runner may have been brought down by the facemask in the first half, but that was the only thing I saw throughout that game.  Thought they handled the skirmish efficiently on the DC sidelines near the end of the game.

[Bobref]

Just an outstanding job by the 5A crew. Two things stuck out to me:

1. The way they handled the intentional grounding call should be made into a clinic video. The Referee held the spot of the pass. The wing official came in to communicate that the pass did not make it to the neutral zone. The Umpire confirmed there was not an eligible in the area. The R then dropped the flag. Textbook.
2. The unfortunate kerfuffle on the DC bench area following the interception at the end of the game could have been much, much worse. But the crew acted quickly, assisted by the coaches, to isolate the two trouble spots, and then moved in to shut them down. Great job by veteran officials who did not get rattled by the situation.

[JustRules]

2 hours ago, Bobref said:

Just an outstanding job by the 5A crew. Two things stuck out to me:

1. The way they handled the intentional grounding call should be made into a clinic video. The Referee held the spot of the pass. The wing official came in to communicate that the pass did not make it to the neutral zone. The Umpire confirmed there was not an eligible in the area. The R then dropped the flag. Textbook.
2. The unfortunate kerfuffle on the DC bench area following the interception at the end of the game could have been much, much worse. But the crew acted quickly, assisted by the coaches, to isolate the two trouble spots, and then moved in to shut them down. Great job by veteran officials who did not get rattled by the situation.

I hope you gave the R a lot of grief for announcing the numbers of the players involved. He probably had no idea he did that. 🤣

[AW0352]

10 hours ago, JustRules said:

I hope you gave the R a lot of grief for announcing the numbers of the players involved. He probably had no idea he did that. 🤣

I wondered that last night.   In HS you do not announce numbers on penalties correct?

[oldtimeqb]

This weekend will not be a clinic tape on knee pad enforcement.

I don’t think the FW BL kicker is even wearing any. 

[Bobref]

6 minutes ago, AW0352 said:

I wondered that last night.   In HS you do not announce numbers on penalties correct?

Correct.

[Bobref]

10 hours ago, JustRules said:

I hope you gave the R a lot of grief for announcing the numbers of the players involved. He probably had no idea he did that. 🤣

Never mind that. Everyone, please join me in wishing @JustRules a Happy Birthday!