Be the Referee: Intentional Grounding
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 9, 2021
This week, MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explains football intentional grounding at the high school level.
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 – Intentional Grounding – Listen
A quarterback is under heavy pressure and immediately throws the ball away. International grounding, right? Maybe. And maybe not.
What goes into an official deciding if grounding has occurred?
First, there is no such thing as a “tackle box” in high school football as it pertains to grounding. A quarterback scrambling outside of the tackle box who throws the ball away could still be penalized for grounding – even if it reaches the line of scrimmage.
Any pass can be penalized for grounding if there is no receiver in the immediate area. Behind the line, inside the tackle box – none of that matters – it only matters if there’s a potential receiver nearby. If there is – no grounding. If there’s not – there will be a flag on the field.
Previous editions
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
In Shoulder Pads & Stripes, Michigan Superbly Represented at Super Bowl LX
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
February 9, 2026
MHSAA football champion? Check.
NCAA football champion? Check.
Super Bowl champion? Check.
Winning has become routine for Muskegon’s Anthony Bradford.
Bradford starred on the offensive line for the Big Reds, helping deliver the MHSAA 11-Player Division 3 championship in 2017. He kept collecting titles at LSU as part of the Tigers’ national championship team in 2019. Now, he’s reached the sport’s biggest stage as a Super Bowl champion.
The Seahawks’ starting right guard played a major role in Seattle’s second Super Bowl title, a 29-13 win over New England on Sunday in Super Bowl LX. Seattle rushed for 141 yards and allowed just one sack in the victory.
Bradford wasn’t the only former MHSAA athlete connected to the Seahawks this season. Wide receivers Tyrone Broden (West Bloomfield, 2019) and Cody White (Walled Lake Western, 2016), along with offensive lineman Logan Brown (East Kentwood, 2019), spent time on the practice squad or injured reserve. Defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins (Detroit Southeastern, 2010) was released in early December.
New England also featured MHSAA ties, with offensive lineman Mike Onwenu (Detroit Cass Tech, 2016) and punter Bryce Baringer (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2017) on the Super Bowl roster.
Super Bowl LX was officiated by referee Shawn Smith, a graduate of Detroit Cody, where he played football and ran track. Smith was a registered MHSAA official for 18 years before advancing to the college ranks and eventually the NFL.
PHOTOS (Top) Shawn Smith, center with white hat, poses for a photo with his officiating crew at Sunday's Super Bowl. (Middle) Muskegon's Anthony Bradford lines up against Farmington Hills Harrison in 2017. (Smith photo courtesy of the NFL/Ben Liebenberg.)