First Playoff Football Game
 

This was my second year doing high school football after 10 years of baseball and basketball officiating. I was lucky enough to join a great football crew this season and we received a playoff game for last night.

We had a very competitive game throughout the evening and we called a good game (IMO). Had two uncommon plays though. Play 1: The quarterback rolls out on a draw play and hurdles the cornerback. We had to discuss the proper penalty and signal. Play 2: Team A lines up for a punt in the third quarter. As the ball is snapped, I (LJ) turn to run down field and see the coach entirely in the restricted area. I dropped my flag and continued with the play. After a 40 yard return, I communicate with my R that I have a sideline warning. The L from the other side of the field comes running over and reports a sideline warning as well. Oh boy...{please note we screwed the pooch on this one} we offset the penalties and played the down. After the game I was thinking about it and said to myself, "Sideline warnings are nonplayer fouls. You treat nonplayer and unsportsmanlike fouls like dead ball fouls. Therefore, we should have accessed them in order of occurrence not offset them." Simple mistake that didn't affect the overall outcome but will be something I'll never screw up again.

Anyways, just wanted to thank the forum for all the help over the years. Glad I stumbled onto the forum in 2005 while in college. This is an invaluable asset to my officiating career.

-Josh

Did you get the hurdle enforcement right?

As for the sideline warnings, if it were the first ones on each sideline, then there would be no yardage penalty anyway, so really no harm no foul, but the warning would still count. If it were second or third ones, then you would have had an issue.

Congrats on the playoffs, my crew and I are hoping we make it in the next 2 or three years here in Illinois, but boy is it a tough nut to crack to make it in.

Congratulations on the playoff assignment, Josh.

I had never seen a hurdle in a varsity game before this season, and then we had TWO in one game! Both plays, one by each team, went for touchdowns, and were called back for the hurdles.

The coaches got some practice scratching their heads in that game. :)

We did not get the signal correct on hurdling. We were all a little flummoxed on the signal. Fortunately it really called itself since everyone knew what happened, no signal was really necessary.

The sideline warnings were just that warnings. The problem was that we treated them as live ball fouls (incorrectly) and replayed the down.

The game didn't hinge on the sideline warning flub so it was all good.

-Josh

We all make mistakes.

Last Thursday my crew was working the last game of the season between two 1-7 teams. The *first* flag of the game was a 15-yard face mask with :12 left in the first quarter. We were playing in a driving rainstorm at 42 degrees and I was winding the clock as quickly as I could every time I had to start it.

So I wind it, the clock runs out for the first quarter, and the first time I even considered running an untimed down was when I watched the video on Tuesday.

Quite frankly, I know better. And I'm certain I'm still the only one that knows better. No matter -- I'm paid to get those things right.

Congrats on the playoff game. We have our second rounder tomorrow and then we're done for the season.

Sounds like you got it right, since there IS no signal for a hurdle. The R should simply signal PF, explain it's for hurdling if he's mic'ed, and proceed.

Unless you want to use this signal:
http://www.mediasalestoday.com/wp-co.../10/hurdle.jpg

It was one of those DUH moments in the locker room after the game. I help train flag football officials at the University and I always explain penalty enforcement "Take care of all live-ball fouls, determine if a 1st down is gained, then dead-ball fouls including UNS and nonplayer fouls". I just had a moment of lapsed judgement. I'm glad I thought of it afterwards nonetheless.

We will find out Friday if we work Monday (second round).

-Josh

No, that's the illegal kung-fu to the face signal.

No such drama here -- we knew all our assignments by the end of September.

Yeah, I guess it leaves a bit of wiggle room for the powers at be to work around conflicts of interest but it seems a little odd. Once again, I'm not a football official so this is all a little new to me.

-Josh

You could always use the "giving him the business" call:
Giving Him the Business - YouTube

A poor imitation. Here's the original:

Ref Is Giving Him The Business - YouTube

Good ol' Ben Dreith. He was interviewed in the paper out here in Denver when the replacements were on the field earlier this season. He's quite the character and a bit of a local legend.

My linesman told me tonight that I'm clearly in early stages of Alzheimer's. He said that not only did we run an untimed down, I was the one who notified both benches that we were going to do so.

After thinking about it a bit, I remembered one detail that proved he was right. As the play ran, I watched the clock to see if time would run off from 12:00. 2 seconds did, then the clock operator reset the clock to 12:00.

Wonder why I forgot...I'm not *that* old.

Im still trying to figure out why you were even thinking about marking off yardage on a sideline warning anyway. ITs a WARNING. not a penalty. Now the 2nd time this happens, then we mark off yards. Or if you made contact with a coach in the box it is a penalty. There should be no confusion on this at all. What did you use for the Hurdling signal. The only signal to use is a personal foul signal.