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This football official is signaling a first down.

Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management

September 15, 2026

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 – Dead Ball Penalty - Listen

We’ve got 4th-and-10 on the football field today. Team A has the ball on their own 40 and is going for it.

The quarterback scrambles and is pushed out of bounds at the 49-yard line, one yard short of a first down.

A defensive player from Team B hits the quarterback after he’s been pushed out of bounds and is flagged for a dead-ball personal foul. Where should the ball be marked and who has possession?

Is it 1st-and-10 for Team A at Team B’s 36-yard line? Or does the defense get the ball, 1st-and-10 for Team B at their own 36?

If you said Team B’s ball, you are correct. The personal foul was a dead-ball penalty that is enforced after the change of possession.

Previous 2026-27 editions

Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen

A Livonia Churchill player focuses on making the catch during a 2022 game.

Be the Referee: Football Rules Differences

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

August 23, 2023

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 – Football Rules Differences - Listen

The first week of the high school football season is always exciting … and sometimes confusing. Here are some – not all – differences between the high school game and what you see on Saturdays and Sundays.

In high school, there is no such thing as an uncatchable ball when judging pass interference. It is a penalty if there is illegal contact, whether the ball is catchable or not.

In overtime, high school teams start with the ball at the 10-year line – not the 25 like in college. And in high school overtime, you are only able to get a first down via penalty. And, at no time is a high school team required to go for two points.

And on extra point plays, if the defense gains possession, the try is over. The defense cannot return the ball for two points.