South Dakota High School Activities Association

South Dakota High School Activities Association October 12, 2016 Author: Buck Timmins Unsportsmanlike Conduct Most officials will answer a coach s question if it is asked in a reasonable tone of voice. No one expects coaches to appreciate every call but constant comments such as you blew that one or how can you make a call like that deserve to be answered with silence and possibly a penalty flag if the comments escalate to continuing badgering. Continual complaining can serve as a distraction to officials. If the comments turn personal then no leeway should be given to the coach who is complaining. There is a large difference between disagreeing with a call and having your integrity questioned. Once a head coach has crossed the line, the necessary penalty should be enforced swiftly. That is the exact purpose of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. If the coach is not penalized, his conduct may become more offensive. Coaches who let the officials officiate serve the game much better than one who constantly questions every call and berates the officials. The head coach can help officials by keeping players in the team box and by moderating the behavior of assistant coaches. The head coach should be the only one communicating with the officials. If a coach continues to berate officials or act in a manner that is simply unsportsmanlike, officials should forego the sideline warning and go straight to a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Failing to address out-of-line behavior by players or coaches only creates a larger issue for the next crew to deal with next week. Remember: The High School Football Field is a Classroom everyone present should behave as such! Video Review The SDHSAA has found that the most effective training tool for promoting consistency and improved officiating is through video review. With the help of SDHSAA coaches and Mark Smith of Pierre, the SDHSAA is working on compiling a video review of unique plays and situations. The SDHSAA is hoping the plays will allow discussion areas of mechanics, crew communication and rules study with football officials on high school mechanics and rules. The plays are not meant to pick on any one official, crew or team. These plays are meant to be a learning tool to help promote what we all want to see from our officials. Take ideas from these plays that you find helpful and apply them to your football officiating game. This week s video plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwqimxt0g1w

Pass Catching Eligibility At the snap, eligible receivers are those in the backfield or on the end of the line with a number 1 to 49 or 80 to 99. Interior linemen (regardless of number) and ends or backs numbered 50 to 79 are ineligible at the snap. Players numbered 50 to 79 inclusive cannot report to the referee to become eligible receivers. Eligibility rules apply only to legal forward passes. Eligibility does not arise in the case of an illegal forward pass. If an ineligible player is downfield then an illegal pass is thrown, there is only one foul for the pass, and not a second foul for the ineligible receiver being downfield. During a down in which a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone, interior offensive linemen and other ineligible Team A players are not allowed to advance downfield before the pass is thrown. If a pass is caught by an ineligible receiver, the ball remains live and may be advanced. However, the penalty will be accepted, and the play negated, unless a subsequent fumble gives Team B possession of the ball. An ineligible Team A player by number or position can throw a legal forward pass. An ineligible Team A player can catch or recover a backward pass and advance. Backfield players numbered (50-79) would be considered an ineligible receiver (because of the number they are wearing) and may not advance beyond the expanded neutral zone on a legal forward pass play before a legal forward pass that crosses the neutral is in flight. Free Kick After Fair Catch There are no prohibitions against using a "kickoff" tee for a free kick following a fair catch or an awarded fair catch. The ball also may be held in position on the ground or on a kicking block by a place-kick holder who shall be a teammate of the kicker. After a made or awarded fair catch, the new Team A has the choice to put the ball in play via a snap or a free kick anywhere between the inbounds lines. A timeout may be taken to make that decision. The right to make that choice remains if: (1) a dead-ball foul occurs before the ball becomes live for the first down-down play, (2) a foul occurs during the down following the fair catch and the penalty is accepted. The teams lineup for a free kick just as they would for a kickoff. Treat this situation after a fair catch or an awarded fair catch as it being just a regular kickoff that can score and all the rules are the same as on a regular free kick. This is one of times a field goal may be scored by a free kick. The captain may choose to free kick from any point between the hash marks on the yard line through the spot of the catch when a fair catch is made. Kick Holder Restrictions A placekick holder, who at the snap has his knee on the ground while there is a teammate in kicking position, must rise before he may try to advance, hand the ball to another player or pass the ball. If the holder does any of those things while his knee(s) is on the ground, the ball is immediately dead. If the holder rises to catch or recover an errant snap, and immediately returns his knee(s) to the ground and places the ball for a kick or again rises to advance, hand, or pass, the ball remains live. NOTE: The ball becomes dead if the place-kick holder muffs the snap or fumbles and recovers after his knees have been off the ground and he then touches the ground with other than hand or foot while in possession of the ball. (Rule 4-2-2 Note)

Mechanics Linesman and Line Judge Line to Gain On Fourth Down On a snap inside 5-yard line, wings officials are to release to the goal line and officiate back to the ball as per Football Game Officials Manual. Linesman and Line Judge should treat the line-to-gain on fourth down just like the goal line when the ball is snapped at or inside the five yard line. At the snap, wings officials need to release to the line-to-gain NOT the goal line. This is an important spot. Fouls Before or After Change of Possession When both teams foul during a change of possession down and the team in final possession gets the ball free of a foul (with clean hands ), they have the opportunity to retain possession. The fact that their opponent s foul occurred after the change of possession has no bearing on the enforcement. However, when Team B, the clean hands team, retains possession by declining the opponent s foul, the penalty for Team B s foul shall be enforced. RATIONALE: The clean hands rule prevents an inequity that once appeared in the rules. If A2 were illegally in motion and B1 intercepted a pass, a foul by B2 during the runback would have constituted a double foul and caused the down to be replayed. The current rule allows team B the option of accepting the penalty for the foul by A2 or declining it and retaining the ball. If the penalty for A s foul were declined in order to keep the ball, the penalty for the foul by B2 would then be administered. The rule separates the two fouls and removes them from the double foul category. A foul by the team after it has gained possession is penalized. PLAY 2: During a legal forward pass which crosses the neutral zone, A1 is illegally in motion at the snap. B1 intercepts and during his return, B2 clips A2. RULING 2: The illegal motion by A1 and the clipping by B2 are both live-ball fouls, but because the foul by B2 followed a change of team possession, they do not automatically constitute a double foul. If the captain of B declines the penalty for the illegal motion by A1, B will retain possession, but the penalty for clipping by B2 must be enforced. If B accepts the penalty for the illegal motion by A1, it is a double foul and the down will be replayed Quick Tip Officials: DO NOT search for penalties and violations instead let the play, fouls and violations come to you. Points To Think About Wings--Don t ever give up the goal line. If you are responsible for the goal line hold your position. You may have to back off for safety or perspective but never give up if there is the possibility of it coming into play. When play goes out of bounds on your side of the field turn all the way to face out of bounds area to view player action your primary responsibility is the out of bounds spot and safety of players who have went out of bounds. Once those two responsibilities have been satisfied (and only then) do we worry about getting a football back onto the field Avoid waking through penalty signals. Come to a complete stop before signaling. Have no facial expression; slowly give the signal and point to the offending team; avoid jabbing the arm when signaling; it is a sign you are angry of feel a sense of gotcha toward the offending team. Don t walk through the end of you signal either. Come to a complete stop after signaling and hustle to your next task

Umpires often have the best look on catches and traps, particularly those in the middle of the field need to pivot after ball crosses head. Too many officials giving signals when it is not their call. Let the calling official make the call and cover your area of work. A second signal just complicates matters. There is never any hurry to signal except on a wind and kill on a first down. Slow whistle slow flag slow beanbag. Counting players Officials need to count players every down, it matters We don t ever want to toss a ball to a wing official to place the ball for a measurement. The ball should be run over to the wing official and he will place it at his feet for the measurement. It is very important that you have the correct number reported when calling a foul. Don t stop officiating to get a number. You must see the whole play when calling an infraction. Make the fouls be solid before making a call OVERTIME PROCEDURE After the three minute intermission the visiting team will have the choice of the coin toss heads or tails. The winners of the coin toss with have three choices: Offense, Defense or choice of end of field to put ball in play. Only one end will be utilized during the two sets of downs to insure equal game condition. If the game goes to a second overtime, the loser of the overtime coin toss with have the same choices: Offense, Defense or choice of end of field to put ball in play. They may choose to play at other end of field as you do not have to use the same end of the field for all the overtime periods. One time out per-overtime period No clock Series ends when Team A scores OR with Team B possession o If the defensive team gains possession, the ball becomes dead immediately and the offensive team s series of downs is ended. Line to gain is ALWAYS THE GOALLINE No Chains only the down indicator is used Officials need to study overtime procedure as found on Page 84 of NFHS rule book. Enforcement Spots 1. Live ball personal foul (foul while ball is live) if the runner has not crossed the goal line the penalty would be enforced from the spot of the foul. If an unnecessary (but legal) block against defenseless player occurs while the runner is still running in the field of play (live ball) you would enforce the penalty from the spot of the foul take away the touchdown. o Rationale: safety rules for contact against players who are deemed defenseless 2. Dead ball personal foul if the runner has crossed the goal line, goes out of bounds or is down by rule before the personal foul--you have a dead ball situation so you would count the touchdown and enforce penalty on extra point try or kickoff. 3. Live ball unsportsmanlike foul if runner has not crossed goal line and you have an unsportsmanlike penalty you would consider the unsportsmanlike foul as a dead ball foul live ball foul penalized as a dead ball foul. Count touchdown enforce penalty on extra point try or kickoff.

4. Dead ball unsportsmanlike foul runner has crossed goal line, goes out of bounds or is down by rule (dead ball). Count touchdown enforce penalty on extra point try or kickoff. Unsportsmanlike acts are those that do not involve physical contact against an opponent. Taunting, excessive celebrating and disrespect directed at officials are examples of unsportsmanlike acts. Late hits, flagrant facemask grabs, unnecessary roughness, excessive or targeting fouls are among those considered personal fouls. Coaches need to teach their players that the play kills itself. Players need to be taught when the ball is dead by rule. If players hit until the whistle, often they are hitting late as the whistle signifies the ball is already dead. The officials whistle only indicates that the down is over. Football players need to understand when a player is down by action or out of the play. Officials Quiz 2016 Question 1: B24 intercepts a pass at Team B s 10 yard line and advances. During B24 s run, B33 blocks below the waist at Team B s 20 yard line. As A67 tackles B24 at Team B s 40 yard line, A67 grasps but does not twist B24 s face mask. What is the ruling? Question 2: A22 is flagged for illegal motion at the snap. A17 s legal forward pass is intercepted by B45 in his own end zone and returned to his own 20 yard line. During B45 s run, B55 clips A28 in Team B s end zone. What is the ruling? Question 3: Team A is flagged for illegal motion at the snap. B24 intercepts a legal forward pass and advances. During B24 s run, B77 clips and A22 grasps but does not twist B24 s facemask. B45 fumbles and Team A recovers. What is the ruling? Question 4: A17 s pass is intercepted by B33 and returned for a touchdown. A46 grasps but does not twist B33 s facemask (a) before, or (b) after B24 s intercepts. What is the ruling? Question 5: It is fourth and goal for Team K from Team R s four yard line in the first series for either team in overtime. Team K10 s successful field goal give Team K a 10-7 lead. During the play, R28 is flagged for roughing the kicker. What is the ruling? Question 6: Fourth and 8 for Team K from its own 45-yard line. Prior to R20 catching the kick, R35 clips K44 at the 50-yard line and R13 catches the kick at his 20-yard line and is immediately tackled. What is the ruling? Question 7: Team K tries an onside kick from Team K s 40 yard line, as the ball bounces near the sideline the ball is muffed out-of-bounds by K46 at Team R s 49 yard line. What is the ruling? Question 8: At the snap, K1 is in position to kick and K2 is in position to hold for a place kick with one knee on the ground. The snap is high or bounces once and it is necessary for K2 to lift his knee off the ground in order to catch or recover the ball. K2 catches the snap and : (A) immediately drops to one knee and places the ball for a kick; (B) immediately drops to his knees and then rises and passes the ball; or (C) takes several steps and then drops to his knees to place the ball. Question 9: Team A is in shotgun formation. At the snap, left tackle A77 sets up to pass block, taking two steps back to block the edge rush end, B50. As B50 tries to rush outside of the blocker, A 77 drops and blocks B50 just below the knees, taking both players to the ground. What is the ruling?

Question 10: Fourth and 5 for K from R s 49-yard line. R9 catches the kick on the 15-yard line and returns the ball to R s 40 yard line, where he is downed. During the return, R3 holds K7 at R s 30-yard line. What is the ruling? Football Officials Or Coaches Concerns If you have any play situations during your games that officials statewide should know about to help them become better officials, please send plays to be included in weekly bulletins. If you have questions about rule interpretation, please forward your concerns to buck.timmins@k12.sd.us or call me at 605-996-1483 (home)--605-933-1493 (cell). If you have any questions or comments about any information you will receive this football season--please forward your concern to me. If you have any ideas for newsletter topics that would benefit all the SDHSAA officials, please let me know your topic(s). Quiz Answers Ruling 1: Team B can keep the ball by declining the penalty for Team A s foul. The penalty for B33 s foul would then be enforced from the spot of the foul. If Team B accepts Team A s penalty, the fouls would offset and down replayed. Ruling 2: If Team B declined Team A s penalty, it would result in a safety. Team B will likely accept Team A s penalty, resulting in a double foul and a replay of the down. Ruling 3: Team A gained possession with dirty hands. Because the Team last gaining possession fouled before gaining possession, the fouls offset and the down is replayed. Ruling 4: In (a), the foul occurred before the change of possession. Team B must decline the penalty to keep the touchdown. In (b), because the foul occurred after the change, Team B may choose enforcement on the try or on the ensuing kickoff. Ruling 5: Team K may choose enforcement from the previous spot, yielding first and goal from Team B s two yard line, or may choose enforcement from the succeeding spot. That would mean Team R would start it overtime series from the opponent s 25 yard line. Ruling 6: The ball will belong to Team R, first and 10 at its 10-yard line. The basic spot is the 20-yard line as post-scrimmage kick enforcement applies. Ruling 7: Team R could have Team K rekick after a five yard penalty, or take the ball first and 10 at the inbounds spot on Team R s 49, or take the ball first and 10 at the inbounds spot at Team R s 35. Ruling 8: The ball remains live in (A) and (B). In (C), the ball is dead when K2 s knee touches the ground, because he did not go back down immediately after catching or recovering the errant snap. Ruling 9: Foul for illegal block below the waist. While the contact took place with the zone, the ball had long left the zone (shotgun snap). Ruling 10: Following enforcement of R s holding penalty, it would be R s ball, first and 10 from R s 20-yard line. This is NOT a post-scrimmage kick enforcement, but a postpossession foul.