SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, INC.
A Federal Non Profit Tax Exempt Corporation – www.sdcfoa.org
THE WEEKLY BULL – Sept. 17, 2014
Special SDCFOA Board Meeting – Dan Hopwood earned a nice promotion in his real job which has forced him to resign his position of Treasurer due to the new time requirements of this new assignment. As a result, the Board will convene at 5:30 on Wednesday Sept. 17th in Room E6 to interview applicants and select a new treasurer. The new treasurer will assume the duties at the beginning of the 2015 season.
Tonight’s Meeting Schedule – We will still have our instructor/crew chief meeting starting at 6:15 in Room S8. Instructors, tonight will feature the bull and much, much video review. Please feel free to share cut ups (good and bad) from your own games as time permits. We will also have opportunities for officials to make up exams (either in the classroom or in room WL6 (right across from Jim Sibbet’s and Chris Wiggin’s classrooms. All scores must be recorded on the attendance sheet.
Thank You SDCFOA Members – Thank you fellow officials, for your amazing response to the call to donate your 1” striped shirts to other sports. Bob Duggan reported that over 90 shirts were donated. – Thank you!
From the Observers – Please discuss cross field mechanics and how we can use them to benefit our spots. When flanks work together and trust each other, cross field mechanics can improve the work of both flanks. You two are a team within the crew!!!
Also from the Observers – Good signal communication throughout the game is a must! Make sure that we are always giving STRONG, CLEAR, CONFIDENT signals. Signals are a key part of the communication process with the crew, coaches, players, and fans. We must sell the fact that we are in total control of the game…not with loud obnoxious or condescending comments, but with STRONG, CLEAR, CONFIDENT SIGNALS!
The Rules are Different – There are times when the differences in rules between youth football, high school, NCAA and the NFL get us all confused. We recently had a referee on Saturday employ a pop warner rule on injuries to a freshman game. Nothing bad resulted but some major confusion on the part of the coach. And we still hear coaches (mostly assistants) appealing an intentional grounding call on the QB that “He was outside the box!” Sorry, but that is NFL and college only! We do get these differences right, almost all of the time, but we need to continue to remind each other of the differences when they come up.
Varsity Free Kick - Team sets up in what appears to be 3 on the right side of the kicker. What the kicking team failed to tell the officials is that the 4th player in is also a kicker, and will be the one kicking the ball which is going to be on-side. We did the right thing by making the formation legal, by placing the intended kicker in position #5 so he had 4 players outside the kicker. After the kick, the head coach asked why we did that and we explained that we were not going to let them kick from a illegal formation. He accepted the explanation.
Injury Time Out - During a Frosh game, we had an injury TO, and one team went to the sideline. The other team remained in the middle of the field. The head coach came out and stated that last week, he was told that they could not come to the sideline. I explained that it is permissible for a team to come to the sideline, especially in an extended stoppage to allow for water and to keep them away from the injured player. Let’s be consistent here. On an official’s time out for injury, the players are not restricted from going to the sideline as long as we get them back immediately when we’re ready to re-start the game.
Line Shifting – In this game the offense shifts on the word "go". The correct ruling on the field was a false start. If the officials judge any action during a shift to be simulating a snap, a false start on the offense will be called.
Using Substitutions to Confuse – A coach asked if he could have 10 players in the huddle and then run the wide out near the sideline and run another player off the sideline into formation. The correct ruling is that this is illegal. When a team overtly uses substitutions in a manner intended to “trick” the opposing coach and cause confusion, it is a foul for Illegal Participation (live-ball, previous spot). But, if this action happens due to confusion on the part of the offensive player and in an obvious manner, then the defense will see the confusion as well and would legally adjust to the late player coming on the field. We see this all the time and there is no intent to deceive so it is legal.
Is a Standing Tight End on the Line of Scrimmage? – Yes, as long as he is “facing his opponent’s goal line with the line of his shoulders approximately parallel therto and with his head or foot breaking an imaginary plane drawn parallel to the line of scrimmage through the waist of the snapper when the ball is snapped.” When an official states that the offense or the punt team did not have enough players on the line of scrimmage (always need 7 to be legal), it is because one or more of the players who are supposed to be on the LOS are not meeting the definition of a lineman (re-read above)!
8-Man Football Field – The NFHS rules dictate that the field dimensions for an 8-man game are 40 yards X 80 yards. It has come to our attention that the San Diego County 8-man league has requested a 100 yard field. The CIF has no record of this request. As such, we will continue to use a 40 yard X 80 yard field until we are directed to allow the 100 yard field. Stay tuned on this issue as the CIF is looking into it and will get back with us soon. Thank you.
Bonita Vista Games at Southwestern College – If you have a game at Southwestern College, build in extra time to find a key to the locker room facilities (across the top parking lot in the old coaches offices). You must also make sure a key is available after the game as well. If not, it’s your fault…I am warning you!
Properly Inflated Footballs – Please make sure the footballs are properly inflated. Grossly under inflated balls are illegal whether a game ball or a kicking ball. And they must be relatively new with a pebbled grain. Thank you.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct on a Scoring Play – When a runner is at the 5 on a scoring play and begins an unsportsmanlike taunt or celebration well on the field of play, this obvious penalty is enforced as a dead ball foul. All unsportsmanlike fouls are enforced on the succeeding spot. If either team commits an unsportsmanlike conduct or a non-player foul during a down in which a touchdown is scored, the opponent may accept the results of the play and choose enforcement of the penalty on the succeeding spot (on the try or on the subsequent kickoff.)
