Be the Referee: Forward Fumble
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 9, 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 – Forward Fumble - Listen
We have a Football “You Make the Call” for you today.
Team A has the ball at their 20-yard line. Team A’s quarterback gets the snap and starts running toward the sideline.
He’s tackled and fumbles the ball forward, towards the sideline. The ball rolls forward four yards and goes out of bounds before anyone can recover it.
Whose ball is it, and where is it marked?
Since the offense fumbled the ball, it went out of bounds and it wasn’t recovered by anyone, it remains the offense’s ball.
But the ball is marked back to the spot of the fumble. There’s no advantage to fumbling the ball forward.
If the ball had been fumbled backwards and out of bounds with no recovery, then the offense would retain possession where the ball went out of bounds.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen
Listen to Coach, on Concussions
September 5, 2012
Farmington Hills Harrison football coach John Herrington has won 13 MHSAA championships and nearly 400 games over the last four decades. So when he speaks about concussion awareness, we all should listen.
As part of the MHSAA's ongoing concussion education, Herrington spoke on camera about the importance of proper perspective when it comes to those injuries.
(Click on photo below)
Also, this week's MHSAA Perspective with John Johnson discusses the importance of concussion awareness. Listen
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison coach John Herrington led his team to a 38-28 win over Lowell in the 2010 MHSAA Division 2 Final. (Click to see more at Terry McNamara Photography.)