Player Safety

[Jaysef]

Saw a first in two years of officiating. Let me know how you vets would have handled the situation:

Working a 7/8th grade game last night as U...late in the 3rd, I'm keying Tackle to Tackle, I hear the line backer next to me say "Jake, you OK?"cadence begins...I look over at the OLB and his mouthguard is out...and he begins to lose whatever is in his stomache... and it's the projectile type. Now the ball is snapped a second after I witness this, the kid jams his mouthguard back in, and makes the tackle! He then runs off the field and continues spraying his side line.

Now, I felt I obviously missed my duty in stopping the play. However, both events (my spotting the player in trouble, and the snap) occurred almost simulataneously, and the short run was over within seconds. Not to mention I never have my whistle in my mouth as an Umpire, and I wouldn't have gotten it there in time anyway.

My concern is that we should have taken an official's T.O . after the play, and checked on the kid on his SL. Any thoughts?

2ndYrUmp