Weekly Bull 10/17/11

San Diego County Football Officials Association Memo

To:        Crew Chiefs, Head Coaches, and Athletic Directors

CC:       SDCFOA Instructors & Staff

From:    Steve Coover, Instructional Chair SDCFOA

Date:    10/17/11

Re:       Weekly Bulletin #8

Mid-Season Report on Ejections

Here are some basic ejection comparisons with last year after week seven.

• 2011: 6 incidences with 10 ejections, no appeals.  4 week-ends with no ejections.

• 2010: 16 incidences with 17 ejections, no appeals.  1 week-end with no ejections.

Obviously we’re doing better by the numbers and hope this trend continues through the rest of the season.  But if there is an ejection to report, they must be reported to Jim Sibbet no later than Sunday evening.  He submits his report to the CIF first thing Monday morning.  The report should come from the crew-chief or the referee in a JV or Frosh game. 

Sportsmanship Speech

I think it’s a good time of the year to remind crew chiefs that an important part of our pre-game conference with coaches is to remind them that we are expecting good sportsmanship from both teams tonight!  When this rule was first put into the rulebooks for all high school sports, it was suggested that the captains, coaches and administration all attend a pre-game meeting at mid-field prior to the coin toss and have a conversation about sportsmanship like basketball does.  Obviously that was deemed not practical but we do need to visit that important topic each week.

Homecomings and Senior Nights

As we are in Homecoming and Senior Night season let’s be aware of the start time and get it up on the scoreboard.  Let’s help make sure that if there is a delay in the start of the game that the visiting team is aware and can adjust their warm ups properly to avoid cooling down and risking injury. 

Professional Privacy

Just a reminder, as officials we do need some privacy in the locker room before the game, between games, and after the game. We appreciate you giving us that opportunity to discuss game issues in private without the fear of being overheard and our conversation being repeated and possibly taken out of context.  Thank you.

Silence can’t be misunderstood!

We received a complaint about a response from an official that a foul was not called because the score was too one-sided.  We are not officiating the score, so comments regarding calling/not calling fouls based upon the score cannot be defended.  If you see action and it is not a foul, then report that “I saw the action and in my judgment it was not a foul.”  Refrain from any explanation that involves the score.

Bad Snap on Punt

Be heads up on 4^th down!  On 4th down there is a low snap to the punter who throws a pass and is roughed.  Even though the coach understood that the punter became a passer and, indeed, he was roughed, he wanted to know about all of the ineligibles down field!!  There was no response from the crew as no one saw any, one way or another.

Loud Music from Band

If a coach complains that the opposing team's band is playing while they are on offense, it is totally up to the referee to determine if the complaint is valid.  In the case of one reported incident, the noise consisted of 5 members of the drum corps in the corner of the stadium, and they were "playing" while both teams were on offense, so the crew chief chose to just move along with the game.  There is not NFHS rule on this topic and referees can make a fair ruling in these matters.

Intentional Grounding in High School

The difference in high school is that there is no “outside the tackle box” rule.  No matter where the QB is, he is not allowed to throw the pass into an area unoccupied by a receiver…..ever!  Colleges and the Professionals can “dump” the ball incomplete as long as they are outside the tackle box and the ball goes beyond the line of scrimmage.  NOT IN HIGH SCHOOL!  The QB can never just “dump” the ball incomplete.  The only exception is “spiking the ball” in order to stop the clock immediately after the QB take the ball from the center in a direct snap from under center (not shotgun).