Be the Referee: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
November 19, 2024
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Do you know the two main differences between 8-player and 11-player football?
The name gives away one … 8-player is played with 3 less players.
The other difference is the field size. An 11-player field is 120 yards long and 53½ yards wide. An 8-player field in Michigan is the same length, but 40 yards wide, which moves the hash marks in as well.
But other than those two differences, the rules of football remain pretty much the same. At least five players on offense must be on the line of scrimmage at the snap, and each offensive player must be within 12 yards of the spot of the ball when snapped.
High school overtime rules are the same – each team gets four downs from the 10-yard line to score.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call" - Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18: Libero - Listen
Sept. 10: Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen
Be the Referee: Soccer Penalty Kick
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 16, 2025
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Soccer Penalty Kick - Listen
We have a soccer “You Make the Call” for you today.
A player is lined up to take a penalty kick. His shot gets past the keeper and hits the post, rebounding back to him. Since the keeper dove to stop the shot, he has a wide-open net, and calmly sends his second attempt straight to the back of the net.
Good goal?
It is not. After a penalty kick is taken, the kicker can only play the ball again after the goalie or another player touches it. A ball kicked off the post and directly back to the original kicker cannot be played.
In this instance, the goal is not awarded, and the defending team is given an indirect free kick at the spot of the infraction.
If the original P-K had glanced off the keeper first, then hit the post and back to the original kicker who scored, then it would have counted.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Sept. 9: Forward Fumble - Listen
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen