Be the Referee: Always Stay Registered
September 14, 2017
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl relays a quick story of how a retired NFL official stepped in to give a pair of junior varsity teams a chance to play another game this season.
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 – Always Stay Registered - Listen
As Thursday night of Labor Day weekend arrived, with a full slate of football games having long been scheduled, a late junior varsity game was added at the last minute.
The problem was that most officiating crews had already been assigned to other games months in advance.
That’s when one of Michigan’s most decorated officials, retired NFL and three-time Super Bowl official Dean Look, stepped up to help out. Dean, along with four other area officials, put together a crew for that night, so these two junior varsity teams could play.
Many officials from our state who have moved up the ladder to the college and professional ranks have kept their MHSAA registration current to help out on nights like this at the last minute.
Past editions
September 7: Other Football Rules Changes - Listen
August 31: Pop-Up Onside Kicks - Listen
August 24: Blindside Blocks - Listen
Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
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