This happened at least 5 times in OHSAA Finals!

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Ia-Ref

The QB's today are better than ever. I find it rare that one cannot throw beyond the players on the sideline.
I started working 4-man crews for varsity then all went to 5-man here because of the expanded passing game. It was not the short passes that casue this change.
A good R should be able to tell by a QB's performance and poise the intent. A ball that hits the track beyond the bench area by a QB that fires strikes most of the time would be to me a pretty good indication of grounding if the QB is pressured into throwing to avoid an imminent loss.

There are QBs that throw more, but I would not say that all are much better. There are a lot of teams running the spread for example and do not have a QB that can throw the ball that well. And HS QBs still have a very basic and generic passing attack to deal with. Most are not throwing 20 and 30 yard passes. Most HS passing attacks are under 10 yards. Actually most teams that run the spread I see are more about running the football. Also in our crew mechanic the R does not make this call on their own. They get help from other officials as to who was in position and then the R has the final say. The R can tell if they were being hit or just dumping the ball, but does not follow the ball. Heck you can be called for IG even if you throw it at someone under the right circumstances.

Peace