Be the Referee: Pass Interference
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
November 3, 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 – Pass Interference - Listen
How well do you know the rules regarding pass interference and passes behind the line of scrimmage? Let’s find out.
The blue team has the ball. The quarterback throws a forward pass to a receiver who is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Before the receiver can make the catch, a red team defender makes contact with him, and the pass falls incomplete.
Is this defensive pass interference?
The answer is no.
Under high school football rules, pass interference restrictions only apply to forward passes that cross the line of scrimmage. Because this pass was thrown to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage and did not cross it, there is no pass interference.
The same rule applies to backward passes. Pass interference cannot be called on a backward pass, regardless of where the receiver is positioned.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Oct: 27: Field Hockey Substitutions - Listen
Oct. 20: Foot Save in Volleyball - Listen
Oct. 13: Soccer Advantage - Listen
Oct. 6: Defensive Holding - Listen
Sept. 29: Minimum Number of Volleyball Players - Listen
Sept 22: Soccer Changes - Listen
Sept: 15: Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen
Be the Referee: Basketball Video Review
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
February 3, 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 – Basketball Video Review - Listen
When watching a college or NBA game, the last two minutes of the game can seem like it takes forever, especially in recent years where more and more judgment calls made by officials are subject to instant replay. At the high school level, video is not used to make a ruling or confirm or overturn a call made during the course of the contest.
The only time video review is used in basketball at the high school level is at the MHSAA Semifinal and Final games. In these games, video review can be used only to determine if a shot was released in time at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime or if that shot was a 2-point or 3-point field goal attempt.
The MHSAA believes that this very limited use of replay in these games at the very end of the tournament series in boys and girls basketball is the right call.
Previous editions
Jan. 27: Wrestling Inspections - Listen
Dec. 16: Ball Over Backboard - Listen
Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone – Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block – Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal – Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short – Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction – Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch – Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen