SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, INC.
A Federal Non Profit Tax Exempt Corporation – www.sdcfoa.org
THE WEEKLY BULL - October 21, 2015
Wednesday's Meeting - All classes will be meeting this week. It is the last meeting before the Make Up Meeting on 10/28 for those who need that, and the Banquet on November 18th. This week's meeting agenda will be the Bull, Video Review and final election of new board members. Officials will also be able to make up tests and check their attendance! The regular Instructors and Crew Chief Meeting will begin at 6:15 in the regular location.
Banquet Reminder - November 18th at the Hall of Champions. You've already paid for this gala event so you might as well attend. Plus it counts as a meeting! Don't forget the golf tournament that day. There are still a few foursomes to fill out so contact Jake Minger or Ed Blick!
San Diego Youth Football Fund Weekend – This Weekend! - We have set a fund raising goal for this weekend of $5000, to come from two sources. While $5,000 sounds like a lot, if 250 members donated $20 each, not even half of a Pop Warner game, we would get there. ALL DONATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AND APPRECIATED, FROM ALL MEMBERS, WHETHER MORE OR LESS THAN $20!!
We would like to encourage the crew chiefs and crews to donate as a crew the $20 contribution per official. If we can get our crews to do that at a minimum, we are at $3,600. The SDYFF will buy the crew who contributes the most during this weekend a full crew dinner after your game on October 30th! That’s almost $20/man and we’ll take care of your dinner that night!! If officials want to give more including a full game check and add to the $20, that’s fantastic, but we are hoping for $20/official from all officials who work this weekend!
To donate, go to sdyouthfootballfund.org, follow the instructions! Crew chiefs, to be eligible for the crew gift, we need your contribution as a crew donated into the fund by Monday night, the winning crew will be announced on Tuesday of next week.
The second source of income this Friday night will be to take your flier and go to any BJ’s restaurant after your game on Friday night. 15% of your purchase will be donated to our FUND!! Costs you nothing, just show up at BJ’s on Friday night and enjoy!
Thanks for all your help, looking forward to a great weekend to help our San Diego Football community.
- Mike Downing & Jake MInger
Injury Report – Ed Blick hyper-extended his knee and we were afraid of much more damage. Good news is he’s only out for this week. Mike Gunzelman has been cleared by his doctor to return to the field this week. This was an mazing recovery from surgery to repair splint in his artery near the heart. John Herlick got caught up in players and dislocated his ankle and broke his leg. He'll need surgery when the swelling goes down (1-3 weeks) so they can put in a rod and plate. Recovery will be another 6-8 weeks. Take care out there, guys. Warm up well, stay wide and keep up your fitness routine.
Batting the Ball – OK, so we’ve all seen the NFL play. Just a few words of caution, the batting must be clearly intentional, not merely a muff plus, it is legal to bat a pass, fumble or kick when they are in flight. But, like the NFL play, if the defender clearly, intentionally bats a grounded fumble in the endzone and the batted ball goes out of the endzone, then a flag needs to be thrown at the spot of the bat (foul). The result of the play is a touchback as the offense is responsible for fumbling the ball into the endzone and the illegal bat put the ball out of the endzone. Touchback. The offense would accept the penalty which would be penalized from the end of the run which is where the ball was fumbled. In the case of the NFL play the ball was fumbled at the 1 yard line so we’d penalize ½ the distance to the ½ yard line, 1st and goal as long as the enforcement of the penalty leaves the ball in advance of the forward stake (not an automatic 1st down). Now, if the exact same situation occurred and the offense intentionally, illegally batted the ball out of the endzone, the result of the play would be the same – touchback. The defense would decline the penalty as it would give the offense back the ball. Declining the penalty gives the defense the ball 1st and 10 at their 20 yard line. Illegal batting is a 15 yard penalty.
Homecoming & Senior Nights – Tis the season for these events. Please coordinate with head coaches, ADs and ASB Directors to make sure events go off well and we stick to our agreed upon kick off time. Also speak to them about ensuring that the half is over before you turn off the lights (extra point?). We just had that happen. I actually saw the famous Bill Tellous officiate a PAT as the kicker kicked the ball and the lights went out. Bill signaled the kick good and ran off the field. When asked, he said it sounded good! Oh, those were the good ol’ days. Don’t any of you try that!!!!
Receivers Blocking Downfield During the Pass – This is legal as long as the pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage (screen). Receivers may not block downfield prior to a pass as this constitutes offensive pass interference (think “pick play”). Pass interference restrictions for eligible offensive players begin at the snap.
IPad Video Review - I remind coaches not to offer it to our officials during the game, half time or after the game. We should politely decline the invitation to watch how we missed the foul on the last play. It does not help our concentration. There have not been any incidents (that I know of) but I just want to remind officials and coaches. Plays and game film can be shared with the crew at San Diego County Football Officials.
He's Holding! They're Holding! - Just a reminder to all that a constant chorus of these chants really does nothing to help the game, players, officials or coaches. I will admit it get irritating. I encourage officials who are experiencing this from a variety of assistant coaches to point this out to the head coach and ask for his help. Please give the head coach an opportunity to address it with his/her coaches. Communication should be between the head coach and the flank official and the referee. As for holding, the position and the number of the player are helpful, yelling “holding” doesn’t help us understand exactly what you’re seeing. We must also communicate with assistant coaches who have questions, or request information for coaching purposes. But objections to calls, or lack of calls, should be the exclusive right of the head coach...as long as they're not on the field at the time :)
Only in Youth Football – This actually happened, ask Nathan. PAT – snap, hold and kicker approaches but stops. Don’t ask why, it’s youth football. Defender runs in and kicks the ball out of the hold of the holder (who must be a teammate of the kicker – which he isn’t). We now have a live ball, illegally kicked back down the field (imagine Nathan’s face!). Penalty marker is thrown at spot of foul and the ball is recovered by defense. Try is no good, but we have an option for the offense. The offense can accept the penalty which is enforced from the end of the run (the spot of the hold) ½ the distance to the goal line – retry the PAT. This is not a loose ball play…and yes, Nathan got it right!
Referee Penalty Enforcement Actions (not for off side or false start) – Here is what I recommend to keep things moving; 1 – Stop clock. 2 – Get info. 3 – Preliminary signal. 4 – Communicate with referee. 5 – Jog to where you will be standing to start the next play after the umpire finishes enforcement. 6 – Give final signal, check other officials and wind or hack.
State Bowl Championship Officials - Congratulations to Kevin Rathbun and David Hardage who have been selected to work a state regional and state championship game this year. Both will be working their championship game at Sacramento State. Now we wait to hear about other regional and state championship crew members from San Diego. There are many more regional and championship games that will be assigned geographically. We’re hoping for at least 5 more San Diego officials to work a regional with the possibility of even more assignments.
From the Observers – Our crew chiefs are simply amazing! You are well organized, motivated, and providing quality leadership to your crews. As Mike Weseloh said this year, “Our crew chiefs are the heart of our organization!” On behalf of our observers, we couldn’t agree more. Keep up your leadership and quality officiating to our schools. Now is the time we need it most. We are getting into the meat of the league championship schedule and every game is BIG. I can’t remember a year when there were more wide-open league competitions and division games. It seems each week there is an upset of sorts. Any team can win. We have to be up to this challenge, intensity and scrutiny! Now is the time to lead and you are clearly the men to do it. Have a tremendous week of football.
