Be the Referee: 7-Person Football Crews
November 12, 2015
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl discusses why seven-person football crews are used for MHSAA Semifinals and Finals.
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 - 7-Person Football Mechanics - Listen
Last fall, the MHSAA used seven-person football officiating crews at the Semifinal and Final levels of our tournament for the very first time. These larger crews replaced the traditional five-person crews in the 24 most important games of the football season.
Seven-person crews, which for many years were the size of NCAA and NFL crews, provide for much better coverage in the passing and running games with all of the spread offenses and wide-open attacks that have become commonplace with football in the year 2015 and beyond. By adding the two extra officials on each deep sideline, coaches have now two officials to communicate with on each sideline to answer questions and address concerns.
Past editions:
Nov. 5: Make the Call: Personal Fouls - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Demographics - Listen
Oct. 15: Make the Call: Intentional Grounding - Listen
Oct. 8: Playoff Selection - Listen
Oct. 1: Kick Returns - Listen
Sept. 24: Concussions - Listen
Sept. 17: Automatic First Downs - Listen
Sept. 10: Correcting a Down - Listen
Sept 3: Spearing - Listen
Aug. 27: Missed Field Goal - Listen
Be the Referee: Football Rules Changes
August 23, 2018
In this week's edition, assistant director Brent Rice discusses a pair of rules changes coming to high school football this fall.
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 – Football Rules Changes - Listen
The biggest rules changes in high school football across the country this year involve player safety.
When any required player equipment is missing or worn improperly, an official's time-out shall be declared, and the player must come out of the game for one down. This includes players not wearing knee or thigh pads or rolling their pant legs up over their knees and equipment such as shoulder pads or back pads being exposed.
The other change continues to hone the definition of a defenseless player, this time affecting the quarterback once he has thrown the ball and becomes a passer. Until that time, he is defined as a runner. As a passer, he continues to be defenseless until the pass ends or he moves to participate in the play.
The penalty for hitting a defenseless player is 15 yards.