Mechanics on forward pass.

[Mike Simonds]

Here is a situation that came up yesterday during a high school all-star game:

In our association we use 6 man mechanics for varsity football, 5 for JV, and 4 for youth league. When we read pass at the snap, the head linesman holds his position on the line of scrimmage, the line judge will go down field 5 yards, the umpire will get up to the line of scrimmage. I believe 5 man mechanics are similar.

In this game the quarterback rolled out to his left (towards the HL's side) and threw a forward pass. He said the QB was very close to the line and his throwing arm may have been across the line when he released the ball. HL ruled that it was a legal pass. During our post game discussion the box man said that the quaterback was 1 1/2 yards beyond the line and the linesman admitted that it was very close.

My question is this; as the umpire in the game I try to get to the line when I read pass and continue to watch blocking and line play as the flow of the play moves to the where the pass was thrown. Do I have secondary responsibility to judge whether the QB was beyond the line? I was told that I am only responsible for watching if there are any ineligibles down field.

I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's advice on mechanics in this situation. Can we also start mechanic's topics by position and play situation? I think it would be useful to start polishing our mental checklists as the season approaches.