Be the Referee: Fumble Out of Bounds
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
August 25, 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 – Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen
We are on the football field today, where the offense has the ball on their own 20-yard line. It’s 3rd-and 10. They run a draw play, with the running back gaining nine yards before fumbling at the 29 yard-line.
The fumbled ball goes forward to the 35-yard line before another offensive player recovers. Where should the ball be marked?
Because the ball was recovered in-bounds, it’s first down for the offense at the point of recovery, the 35-yard line.
If the ball had rolled out of bounds at the 35-yard line, before anyone could recover it, it would have been brought back to the spot of the fumble – the 29-yard line – making it 4th-and-1 for the offense.
(Photo by Larry Arreguin/Team Arreguin Photos.)
Be the Referee: Field Hockey Basics
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 3, 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 – Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Field Hockey is now a fully sponsored MHSAA sport. So let’s start by getting up to speed on some basics.
Field Hockey is a fall sport.
Games are administered by two officials.
Each team plays with 11 players on the field – including the goalkeeper.
The field is 100 yards by 60 yards – roughly the same size as a football field.
The goals are 12 feet wide and seven feet high, with the penalty stroke line being drawn seven yards in front of the center of the goal.
Players are not allowed to play the ball with the rounded side of the stick – nor are they allowed to charge, hit, shove, or trip an opposing player.
Field hockey games are 60 minutes long, played in four 15-minute quarters.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen
PHOTO by Jamie Crawford/JC Sports Photography.