SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL – November 1, 2023
It’s Playoff Time – I don’t need to say any more than its playoff time! Huge games. One team advances and one team’s season ends. We must respect that. Prepare extensively for this game. Be cohesive as a crew. Trust your crewmate. Do your job!! Remember, you earned this assignment; our assignor has faith in you and your work. Don’t let him or the Association down. More importantly, don’t let the players, teams or the game down! Be professional, demonstrate presence. And have fun!!!!
1st Round Game Assignments are Out – If you received one, please accept it asap. If you have a chance to go to a game, go out and support your fellow officials. Adult tickets are $10. Senior (over 60) and students (5 to 18) tix are $7. Association passes are not acceptable, but you can enter with the crew. Volunteer to chart fouls!
Wilson Football Must Be Used in All Playoff Rounds – Teams may use any Wilson football of their choice, but they must use a Wilson football in all playoff games this year. The Wilson football must be in use throughout the game (not just on kick offs)
SD Football Officials Youth Fund Game Check Weekend - The Winning Crew this year was the Bob Duggan crew. The top 5 also included: Brian Mills, Robin House, Mike Allen, and Greg Covington. Our GCW contributions totaled $9,126. This is $4,000 higher than 2022. Many thanks to the SDCFOA for their support of the Youth Fund.
Golf Tourney & Banquet – Our banquet will be this Wednesday, November 1st at 6:00 pm. Make sure you attend as you’ve already paid for your dinner. And don’t forget to send in any stories you may have to Bob Hood. The banquet is located at the Admiral Baker Golf Course in Mission Valley just off of Friars Road.
Tip From Dave Garza - At pre-game after I remind the coaches about the knees being covered.
I let the coaches know the importance of the QB, Kickers, Holders and Snappers that their knees are covered.
They will be removed anytime during the game for one play and a time out won't buy them back in. Losing those players for one-play can be a real hardship.
Snapper - Rule 7-1-2 – We had a center whose dominant arm was broken and in a cast. So they taught him to snap with his non-dominant hand by rotating the ball parallel to the LOS. The ball was sideways when snapped after the snapper turned the ball 90 degrees. Rule 7-1-2 reads: "The snapper may lift the ball for lateral rotation but may not rotate end-for-end or change the location or fail to keep the long axis of the ball at right angles to the line of scrimmage." The coach said he’d been snapping that way for quite a while.
Film – I’m doing the best I can to get film during the playoffs but the teams are no longer required to add their games to their League Pools. So, if I’m successful, you will get a film. If not, then no film. I will encourage teams to share with us so we can evaluate our efforts, mechanics and judgments. Wish me luck!
Ejections – If a player is disqualified during a playoff game, the same reporting requirements exist. Please notify Steve Coover if an ejection occurs during your game.
Touchback – Remember in high school football the positioning of the player’s body relative to the goal line makes no difference when determining if a kick has reached the endzone for a touch back. In high school, only the position of the ball relative to the goal line is considered. So, if a player is in the end zone and reaches back into the field of play and bats the ball backwards to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line, the ball will be marked dead in the field of play where the ball ends up. As long as the ball does not cross the goal line, the ball is still live! NCAA and NFL are completely different.
Shifting from the Punt Formation – We discovered a team that was in scrimmage kick formation, including the use of the numbering exception, and then shifted into a QB sneak formation. He was correctly told that if he was using the numbering exception for his punts, shifting into a regular scrimmage formation would make the formation illegal as he would have less that 5 players numbered 50-79 on the line of scrimmage. This would apply to either of the two legal scrimmage kick formations (punt and PAT/FG) when using the numbering exception.
Weekly Instructional Video – I will continue to send a Weekly Instructional Video for the next few weeks. It is a quick way to share ideas and officiating concepts and principles…and I hope fun to watch. I hope you will continue to watch games live during the playoffs if you’re not assigned. Come out and support your fellow officials as they work these extremely important games! You will always learn something new and useful. See you at the games!
Sportsmanship Winners 2023 – City Conference Kearny HS; North County Fallbrook HS; Coastal Conference Santa Fe Christian; Metro Conference Montgomery HS; and Grossmont Conference Santana HS.
Congratulations D2 and D3 Playoff Officials – Selected to possibly work a D2 or D3 playoff game in the NCAA College Playoffs are: Jacob Wittler; Mark Halby; Justin Joseph, and Rob Schaerer. Congratulations!
7-Man Mechanics Workshop Wednesday November 15th at 7:00 pm at Mira Mesa High School Library – This is a mandatory meeting for all officials, and alternate officials, who are assigned a 7-man semifinal or 7-man final. Chain crew members and timers do not attend. Open Division Semifinal games will take place November 11th, prior to November 15th ,so you must conduct your own pre-game and prepare your crew for that important game. The Open Division finals crew (Ted Schiess) is expected to attend this meeting. The 8-Man finals crew is excused from attending this meeting. This year’s presenters will be Michael Carey, Bill Bishop, Mike Weseloh, Zack Marble, Steve Coover, Jace Carlson, and Don Carey. Our 7-Person Mechanics Manual is posted on our website and a handout by position will be sent to all those working.
