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: Missed Field Goals
November 5, 2020
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis presents a "You Make the Call" to test your knowledge on change of possession after a missed field goal.
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 - You Make the Call: Missed Field Goals - Listen
Let's get everyone in football game shape with the following “You Make the Call.” One team has a chance to kick a 50-yard field goal just before halftime. As the kicker approaches the ball being held at the 40-yard line, his plant leg slips and the kick comes up well short and wide as it rolls out of bounds at the 4-yard line.
Under high school rules, where will the team that forced the bad kick next snap the ball?
Believe it or not, under high school rules missed field goals that roll out of bounds before reaching the goal line are treated just like a punt. The new offense will put the ball in play 1st-and-10 from the 4-yard line.
Past editions
10/29: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
10/22: You Make the Call: Illegal Kick - Listen
10/15: Toe the Line on Penalty Kicks - Listen
10/8: Disconcerting Acts - Listen
10/1: Ball Hits Soccer Referee - Listen
9/24: Clocking the Ball from the Shotgun - Listen