Be the Referee: Fumble Out of Bounds
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
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: Cross Country Tie-Breaker
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
October 25, 2022
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 – Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Cross Country Regionals are this weekend, and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the state Finals. If a school finishes fourth in the Regional meet with four or more runners in the top 20 places and eight or more complete teams finishing the race, that school will also qualify as a team for the Final meet. But what happens if there is a tie between two teams?
When there is a tie in team scoring it shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth-place finisher shall prevail. If one team does not have a sixth-place finisher, the team with the sixth-place finisher shall prevail.
If only five competitors of tying teams finish, the tie shall be resolved by totaling the scores of the first four finishers, and the team with the lower score breaking the tie and advancing.
Previous Editions:
Oct. 11: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End Zone - Listen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change - Listen