[Mike Simonds]

Last season (during the game from Hell!) I read pass, then got up to the line like I'm supposed to (as the umpire) when I saw one of the interior linemen drive block his opponent down the field about 5 yards past me when the pass was thrown into the end-zone (about 20 yards away). I went to my referee and told him I had OPI on number so and so and then he looks at me with a smile and says "I'm going to change that to an ineligible receiver illegally down-field".

I know this is not by the letter of NFHS rules but I understand and accepted what he did.

How do the rest of you feel about this one? I can see making a case for OPI if the pass is thrown near the lineman blocking illegally past the expanded neutral zone or illegally beyond the unexpanded neutral zone with no contact.

In our case the pass was thrown to the corner of the endzone and the block was taking place in the middle of the field near the 20 yard line.

The good thing is I had a nice chat with the coach and explained the rules and he knew that his player committed a foul: his player got an A for effort but an F for rules knowledge! So we both had a good smile and the kids learned something.

Just interested in how you guys feel about this.