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Football Follies

October 7, 2014

Notice reached the MHSAA office of a so-called “2014 Michigan Youth Football Classic” that invites youth league teams to “a great weekend of youth tackle football.” For $450 per team, youth football teams will bang bodies for two days – Nov. 8 and 9 – with each team guaranteed at least three games. Three!

No level of football but this – for the youngest players who have the most vulnerable skulls – allows the idiocy of three games in a weekend. Most limit competition to a maximum of one game in a week!

In my opinion, this isn’t a football classic. It’s child abuse.

I wish the foolishness would stop there, but even an organization called USA Football seems to have lost its head. Initially and mostly with funding from the NFL, USA Football was focused on teaching youth football coaches and players safe blocking and tackling techniques. Good.

But now this pseudo-national governing body for amateur football is planning events for various age groups that will extend tackle football practices and games throughout what used to be an off-season. Multiple competitions in tackle football are scheduled for high school age players in January, February and July of 2015.

At a time when professional, college, school and Pop Warner football are all reducing contact during practices in-season, USA Football wants to expand the contact experience out of season. It makes about as much sense as three games in a weekend.
A loose ball bounces during the Week 1 game between Goodrich and Frankenmuth

Be the Referee: Forward Fumble

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

September 9, 2025

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 – Forward Fumble - Listen

We have a Football “You Make the Call” for you today.

Team A has the ball at their 20-yard line. Team A’s quarterback gets the snap and starts running toward the sideline.

He’s tackled and fumbles the ball forward, towards the sideline. The ball rolls forward four yards and goes out of bounds before anyone can recover it.

Whose ball is it, and where is it marked?

Since the offense fumbled the ball, it went out of bounds and it wasn’t recovered by anyone, it remains the offense’s ball.

But the ball is marked back to the spot of the fumble. There’s no advantage to fumbling the ball forward.

If the ball had been fumbled backwards and out of bounds with no recovery, then the offense would retain possession where the ball went out of bounds.

Previous 2025-26 editions

Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen