I went to watch the first boys varsity game of the year in this area because a friend of mine was on the 3-man crew. He is a good official in his 30s who does some college ball.
It was not a close game, but was very physical. There were 52 fouls called! Even with the officials letting a fair amount go, the game was extremely foul-plauged. As I sat in the first row, I heard two very funny comments that testified to this. In the middle of the third quarter the timer forgot to start the clock as the home team brought the ball upcourt. The trail official caught it, stopped the game, and had a few seconds run off. During this time the home coach said to his timer, "I thought it was all the fouls that were making this game so long. You mean you aren't starting the clock?"
Now that was good, but the line of the night went to the announcer who said after a foul was reported on #52 in the fourth quarter, "Reed foul on XXXX. Believe it or not that is his FIRST personal foul!" The crowd went nuts.
However, all of this was topped with 57 seconds left in the game and the home team ahead by more than 20. The visitors have had three players foul out and were still pressing full court. Two visiting teammates trap a player from the home team in his backcourt right in front of my buddy, who is trail, and knock the opponent to the floor.
I hear a whistle followed by "You, AND YOU!"
Could it be? Yes, it was a MULTIPLE FOUL! I have never even heard of one being called in game before, much less actually seen one. As he reported them, I lost it and started laughing hysterically. The visiting coach did not share my amusement, but was too stunned to voice any serious objections.
In the lockerroom after the game this was the first topic of discussion. He told me that he just reacted to the play and thought it was a safety issue. Both players hit him hard and with all the fouls called already, he didn't want a fight starting.
He also confessed that he had no idea what the proper signal was (he used the double foul mechanic) or if the penalty was two or four shots. (In the game the player received two shots since both teams were already in the double bonus.) They got lucky and did administered it correctly.
Anyway it was worth a good laugh over some beers and all of you now have documented evidence of a multiple foul actually being called in a HS Varsity game. Only in Nevada!
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