All-Star game officating
 

Our association officiates an annual all-star football game that involves recent high school grads. We use NF rules but there are also special rules that are designed to create more offense. One rule is that both defensive ends must rush the QB and nobody on the line can drop back into pass coverage. It is supposed to be a 5-yard penalty for dropping an end into coverage. Moderators are used to make sure the teams are using the 60-40 pass rules that are also required and to watch for other special rule infractions and let us know. Are there any suggestions from officials who have worked these games before? Are moderators of other all-star game permitted to call penalties for special rule infractions?

I've worked games in football and basketball where there are special rules. Unfortunately, there are never any penalties spelled out for violations. What we usually do is get both coaches together prior to the game and empahasize the rules. It usually turns out to be a gentleman's agreement. Sometimes during one of these games, a team will violate a rule and the opposing coach will say, "Hey, they can't do that." I usually respond, "I've told them. What it the penalty?" This usually brings silence.

Unless there are specific penalties in writing, you have to rely on the coaches to agree to police themselves.

If they're specifying an actual penalty like that, the rule is going to have to be defined more clearly than "dropping an end into coverage". The rules would have to define the DE positions, what "dropping into coverage" means, and over what interval that situations is judged.

What's that? They have to pass 60% of the time?

As the other poster wrote, the usual practice in games like this is that the game officials have nothing to do with enforcing the agreements the teams make to restrict the game. Same with the must-play rules in youth football, which are enforced by administrators entirely separately from game officials.

Robert

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like some adjustments need to be made for the game. The moderators should take care of the special rules. I don't know how the officials on the field can see if a defensive player is playing zone or man to man or if the end is covering a receiver for a pass. We caught some crap for not penalizing for this.

While I have not worked these all-star games a buddy of mine has. He said if you work BJ keep your running shoes on as his game was an air assult/track meet all in one!

I worked the post season all star game in CNY several years ago and the game here in SW FL last December. If I recall they just didn't want any blitzing. The BJ got a work out for sure; as you would expect the teams would air it out !
From my U position, I found both games to be a lot of fun.