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.)
Unforgettable 5ive: 2021 11-Player Football Finals
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
December 1, 2021
Here's a look at our Playoff Week 4 "Unforgettable 5ive" from MHSAA.tv and MHSAA media partner broadcasts:
► Belleville's Jeremiah Caldwell hauls in the 72-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Underwood in a 55-33 Division 1 win over Rochester Adams.
► Warren De La Salle Collegiate's Brady Drogosh breaks for a 45-yard touchdown run in a 41-14 Division 2 win over Traverse City Central.
► Detroit Martin Luther King gets a huge 4th-down stop against DeWitt to preserve a Division 3 victory, 25-21.
► Hunter Shaw's 33-yard walk-off field goal clinches Chelsea's 55-52 come-from-behind Division 4 win over Hudsonville Unity Christian.
► Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Nolan Zeigler takes the John Passinault pass 59 yards for the score in GRCC's 31-7 win over Marine City in Division 5.
► Dan Shipman intercepts the pass and returns it 29 yards, one of four Lansing Catholic interceptions, in a 16-6 win over Warren Michigan Collegiate in Division 6.
► Pewamo-Westphalia's Dak Ewalt runs it in from 35 yards out as PW defeats Lawton 14-10 in the Division 7 Final.
► Hudson's Nick Kopin scored twice, including this 6-yard run, in a 14-7 win over Beal City in Division 8.