Let's Get Ready for Ford Field
November 27, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA fall sports season will close this weekend with our most popular Finals as 16 teams play for eight 11-player football championships Friday and Saturday at Ford Field.
Here's a little something we cooked up to help you recall last season's games and prepare for another trip to Michigan high school football's biggest stage. Second Half previews on all eight Finals will be posted later today.
Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 15, 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 – Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
We’ve got 4th-and-10 on the football field today. Team A has the ball on their own 40 and is going for it.
The quarterback scrambles and is pushed out of bounds at the 49-yard line, one yard short of a first down.
A defensive player from Team B hits the quarterback after he’s been pushed out of bounds and is flagged for a dead-ball personal foul. Where should the ball be marked and who has possession?
Is it 1st-and-10 for Team A at Team B’s 36-yard line? Or does the defense get the ball, 1st-and-10 for Team B at their own 36?
If you said Team B’s ball, you are correct. The personal foul was a dead-ball penalty that is enforced after the change of possession.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen