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
Broadcast Schedules Set for MHSAA Football Finals Exclusively on NFHS Network
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
November 18, 2025
Over the next two weekends, and for the first time, all 10 MHSAA Football Finals will broadcast exclusively on the NFHS Network.
The two 8-Player Finals will be contested Saturday at the Superior Dome on the campus of Northern Michigan University, while the eight 11-Player Finals will be played Nov. 28 and Nov. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Detroit Lions also host the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 27, and on Nov. 29, Michigan State will host Maryland in a Big Ten matchup also at Ford Field.
A subscription to the NFHS Network is $13.99 per month – subscribe at NFHSNetwork.com. The broadcast teams for each game is below:
|
Division |
Day |
Time |
Play by Play |
Analyst |
Sideline |
|
8P-Div. 1 |
Nov. 22 |
11 am |
Sean Baligian |
Grant Perry |
Patti Cesarini |
|
8P-Div. 2 |
Nov. 22 |
2 pm |
Sean Baligian |
Grant Perry |
Patti Cesarini |
|
Div. 1 |
Nov. 30 |
7 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Alexis Ayala |
|
Div. 2 |
Nov. 28 |
7 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Cristiana Rosa |
|
Div. 3 |
Nov. 30 |
12:30 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 4 |
Nov. 28 |
12:30 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Cristiana Rosa |
|
Div. 5 |
Nov. 30 |
4 pm |
Joe Jason |
Chris Fritzsching |
Alexis Ayala |
|
Div. 6 |
Nov. 28 |
4 pm |
Joe Jason |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 7 |
Nov. 30 |
9:30 am |
Ben Holden |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 8 |
Nov. 28 |
9:30 am |
Ben Holden |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
You can also listen to all 10 finals via MHSAANetwork.com. The audio call of each game is carried there for both live and on-demand listening.
|
Division |
Day |
Time |
Play by Play |
Analyst |
|
8P-Div. 1 |
Nov. 22 |
11am |
Matt Tjapkes |
none |
|
8P-Div. 2 |
Nov. 22 |
2pm |
Matt Tjapkes |
none |
|
Div. 1 |
Nov. 30 |
7pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 2 |
Nov. 28 |
7pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 3 |
Nov. 30 |
12:30pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 4 |
Nov. 28 |
12:30pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 5 |
Nov. 30 |
4pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 6 |
Nov. 28 |
4pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 7 |
Nov. 30 |
9:30am |
Joe Jason |
Eric Vandefifer |
|
Div. 8 |
Nov. 28 |
9:30am |
Joe Jason |
Eric Vandefifer |
PHOTO From left: Ben Holden, Madison McCarter, Ryan Riopelle and Evan Stockton crew the first "Sunday Selection Show" exclusively on the NFHS Network, Oct. 26 from the Michigan State University School of Journalism Newsroom.