TO: OHSAA Football Officials FROM: Bruce Maurer, DOD; Beau Rugg, Assistant Commissioner Subject: FB Bulletin # 2014-5 (Week 5); 9/25/14 Indicated below are some items that have arisen during Week 4 & at Local Officials Association Meetings. These Rulings supersede any previous ones issued. 1. As many of you know Beau & TG travel on F to watch multiple HS games. These are some of their observations after the first few weeks: A. Cross Field Mechanics – Any time a receiver is hit & driven back the Back Side Wing needs to move into the field near the hash marks, to mark Forward Progress. This would also apply to the runner being hit near the SL, driven back, & the covering Wing is trailing the play. B. Wings IP & Back Side Coverage – If the offense lines up with the wide-outs inside your hash mark or inside your field numbers, step out of the field. When the runner or pass moves toward the opposite SL we expect the Back Side Wing to move at a 45 degree angle toward the hash mark to help officiate. By starting on the field when the formation allows it, we are in a much better position to get to the hash mark. C. BJ’s R&R – You must be able to read the play. Saw an obvious Targeting call on the SL. The BJ was way too far downfield & still in the center of the field even though the QB had run to the SL. D. Wings R&R1: In the opening NFL Thursday Night Game the GB Packers average pass completion was approximately 6 YDS. When you read the swing pass or bubble screen, STAY HOME. 2. Continuous Self Improvement: Ask yourself just before the opening KO, “What will I work on this first half to be a better official by half time”. State this goal to your Crew during the Pregame. 3. Play: A, 1 & 10 @ A’s 6YL. A-1 drops back to pass in his EZ. He throws a backward pass to A-2. A-2 muffs it & B-3 recovers it in A’s EZ. The U has a flag on A-76 for an illegal low block. Ruling. We have a foul by the opponent during a scoring play. DO WE ENFORCE the foul? Good for Crew discussion!!!! Hint – See Rule 8. 4. Point Differential Rule: With 2 minutes to go & the HT winning 35 – 0, the HT HC says he is not going to snap the ball again. He is going to take multiple Delay of Game penalties. See Rules Book, P. 43, Rule 3-4-6, Consume/Conserve. Use it as necessary. 5. Try: A lines up in a muddle huddle with the Center on the end of the line wearing # 22. A has 7 players on the LOS – it is a legal formation. Center A-1 snaps ball to A-2 who throws a forward pass to A-1 in the End Zone. Ruling: Legal play – A scores 2 points on the Try. Please read & review Rule 7-5-6 regarding eligibility on passes. A-1 is eligible. 6. Backward Pass Signaling Mechanics: When a backward pass is thrown the Wings & R must yell “back” & “punch back”. Why? In order to prevent this play that happened last week. A-1 throws a backward pass to A-2. According to reports it was 2-3 yards backward. The pass is muffed. B-1 recovers it & runs for a TD. The Wing lightly sounds his whistle for an incompletion. They called back a TD. It is near half time. While walking off the field B’s HC is assessed a UNS for complaining about the call. We can avoid all of this by using correct mechanics. It is much easier for the Backside Wing to rule on whether the pass is forward or backward. In our game we can “be late & be right”. Slow Down! Before ruling whether the questionable pass is forward or backward when it is coming towards you, look at the Backside Wing. It is VERY important that the R & Backside Wing “Hold” your “punch back” signal a minimum of 2-3 seconds! 7. R’s IP: When watching video & observing games we see that the R is NOT a “full” 8 YDS wide in his IP some of the time. Here is a play in a game a few weeks ago that demonstrates the need to be WIDE. Many teams send a man in motion & when the motion man is in front of the QB he throws a forward pass (shovel pass). The distance from the passer’s hands to the receiver’s hands is minimal, BUT there is space between them. On this play the forward pass was muffed by the receiver & hit the ground. The defense picked it up & ran for a TD. A’s HC complained, saying it was an incomplete forward pass, & was assessed a UNS. By being wide the R has a much better view of this shovel pass play. Obviously, the Wings & possibly the U can help with this call as well. 8. Crew Communication: After throwing a flag & the down is over, take a deep breath & think what you will do. Too often we get in a hurry & end up confusing our Crew. First & foremost, know the Official FB Signals on PP. 88 & 89 of the Rules Book. Give a strong signal to the R regarding the foul & direction. When communicating with the appropriate Wing do NOT give color. Instead, use offense, defense, kicking team or receiving team. Be specific on “what happened” so the Wing can communicate effectively with the HC. Rather than say “offense # 76 held”, indicate “offense, # 76 held by grabbing the opponent with his right hand on the shoulder & turned him at the POA”. Review the 2014 NFHS Preseason Guide, pp. 8 & 9, for an excellent article. 9. Microphone Announcements: Use offense, defense, kicking team, return team, etc on almost all penalty enforcement rather than team names. Use HS Names for SL Warnings & Team Time-outs. See GB, P. 16, Section 22 D. 10. Preliminary Signal: Usually the LM/LJ/U/BJ will signal the Foul to the R. However, if the R calls roughing the passer on a completed pass with no change of possession this could change. This happened on a 30 – 35 yard completion. The R took several steps to see both the LJ & U, signaled them, & then gave his initial signal to the PB. By the time the R jogged to his new IP the penalty had been enforced & everyone was ready to play. 11. Signaling Mechanics: It is very important for a Wing to use the “stop sign” signal &, if necessary, a light sounding of the whistle when play is NOT ready to begin or continue. One example observed was an injured player OOB very near the SL & 20 – 25 YDS away from the LOS. A Wing must keep the “Stop Sign” signal out with eye contact with the R. When the Wing drops the signal he is saying “we are ready to play”. See GB, P. 23, Section 32 MM. It is hard to believe the regular season is already half over. Enjoy your crew & the experience this weekend. Before long we will all be lamenting just how fast this Great FB Season went!! Good Luck this weekend!!
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:23:44 +0000
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