[cowbyfan1]

Originally posted by Mike Simonds
Your experiences are great! Thanks for sharing.

The only situation I can think of happened in a game last month where A was leading B 19 to 18 with time running out in the 4th qtr. A had the ball 1st and 15 deep in their own territory. A runs the ball towards the lineman's side and gets tackled. B piles on. Our referee (a really good official and also our trainer) was ready to award A a first down but as the umpire I told him no, its B's ball because A did not make the line to gain and it was a dead ball foul. We confirmed this with the linesman and gave B the ball first and 10 after the 15 yard penalty. They threw 4 passes trying to score (they were out of field goal range due to their penalty) but time ran out and A still won 19-18.

I think this is the first time in 11 seasons of officiating that this casebook play actually happened in one of my games.

But its great when the crew works together to get it right.

I had basically the same play 2 years ago in a little kids game. Can be fun to explain the A teams coach how he does not get a first down, especially in "Daddy ball".