[jbduke]

Mark,

With all due respect, what would you have an official do in that situation? The late whistle seems appropriate and necessary here. If you bang the play immediately, you've not only reached, but you've made a plain lousy call. You may be vindicated after your whistle by seeing the physical aftermath, but to make the call immediately based on what happens just after such slight contact occurs is really unfair to the defender and to your partner. If you hold that whistle, you have a chance to a) not interrupt the game for some incidental contact, or b) whistle the contact if it turns out to be advantageous to the defender. I just really don't understand what the problem is here. I know at the highh school level, we are not (or at least shouldn't be) so concerned with trying hard to pass on 'game interruptors,' but there is a lot to be said for allowing the game to develop some flow.

jb