Be the Referee: Catch or No Catch
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
September 16, 2021
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 – Catch or No Catch - Listen
Catch … or no catch. It’s a decision that must be made in a split second and can be one of the most difficult decisions a football official has to make – especially one along the sidelines.
In high school, for a catch to be considered complete the receiver must:
Have possession and control of the ball AND
One foot or other body part must first come down in bounds.
This means that if you are forced out of bounds while in the air and with possession of the ball, it is NOT a catch. A defender can legally knock an airborne receiver out of bounds to prevent a completion. The receiver has to get one foot – or other body part – down in bounds for it to be ruled a complete catch.
Previous editions
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
What's My Why: Official Jarrett Skorup
June 17, 2026
Jarrett Skorup, Midland
Skorup has served as an MHSAA-registered official on the wrestling mat the last 16 seasons and added soccer over the last two school years.
I started wrestling when I was 4 or 5 years old. I had a father who was a coach for 33 years and then became an official. So I love continuing that legacy with our family. I have a son now who is almost in high school, and he was my towel tapper for many years, and he talks all the time about wanting to become an official.
I’ve been doing it for about 15 years. I really particularly love when you get one of these matches, where it’s two kids, maybe they’re newer, but they give it their all, their teammates are involved in the match, they have a great close match, and they get done and they have a lot of respect for each other. So I love staying involved in the sport, and I love seeing kids grow through it and become better men and better women.
“What’s My Why” is a weekly feature telling the stories of MHSAA-registered officials in their own words. If you’re an MHSAA official and would like to share your reason why, please submit a 15 to 45-second video, taken horizontally, to director of officials Sam Davis at [email protected].
Don't miss Officiate Michigan Day 2026, July 25 in Grand Rapids! Check out MHSAA.com/OMD to register and learn more.
What's My Why
June 12: Brady Driver, Sturgis - Watch
June 8: Cindy Tyzo, West Bloomfield - Watch
June 3: Jeff Spedoske, DeWitt - Watch
June 1: Mike Carrier, Commerce Township - Watch
May 27: Stan Wright, Warren - Watch
May 26: Murray Rose, Zeeland - Watch
May 22: Mike VanLaan, Alto - Watch
May 18: Clint Abbott, Newaygo - Watch