Illegal Balls?

9/11 Varsity Game

This game is interesting because we had several odd things occur. But first, the non-odd, yet interesting.

I once again had to throw flags for sideline warnings (see this post of a rule description) But this time I deliberately added a dramatic effect. During a long touchdown run I noticed the coach in the restricted area. I tossed my flag right in front of him. The crowd gasped. The coach turned white. I smirked. I told him the first one was just a warning - no yardage. I thought I sent a pretty strong message. I was wrong.

On the second play of the 3rd quarter he was once again in the restricted area. This time the response was "I know this is a point of emphasis this season, but shouldn't you be watching the field?" I guess this coach has not heard about the $10M dollar lawsuit in Texas http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/LawDecisionTX.jsp?hubtype=TxCaseAlert&id=1202431770981&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

Basically, an official ran into a coach on the sideline. The coach now has permanent brain damage. This occurred after repeated attempts to warn the coach to stay out of the restricted area. The courts have favored on the side of the officials. I think I will keep throwing flags and stay out of court.

Next, the visitors tried to use an illegal ball when they returned after halftime. The ball was very old, felt sticky (as if it was altered - is was a cold, foggy night) and had no stripes. You may think this is odd, but there is an entire section in the rule book on the ball. It describes how many laces there can be (either 8 or 12), how far apart they can be, how many panels, the air pressure inside, and a continuous 1-inch white or yellow stripe centered 3 to 3 1/4 inches from each end of the ball. The stripes shall be located only on the two panels adjacent to and perpendicular to the seam upon which the laces are stitched.

We had an interesting foul - Illegal Touching. This may be a new one for you, so pay attention. Here is the rule, an ineligible A player (a means offense) has illegally touched a forward pass if he bats, muffs or catches a legal forward pass, unless the pass has first been touched by B (a defensive player).

Bats, muffs or catches for simplicity sake means this "ineligible offensive player" deliberately touched the ball. Being hit in the back of the head by a pass would NOT be illegal touching.

So, you should be asking, which offensive players are ineligible to touch a pass? Linemen. And who are the linemen? Players numbered 50 - 79 (most of the time.)

During this game the QB was in trouble, and to avoid a sack, he tossed the ball to #53 who caught the ball. Oops. Flags. This is a 5-yard, loss-of-down penalty from the spot of the touching. Actually, a pretty big foul.

When I went in to get the information to report to my coach, the White Hat said to enforce this from the previous spot. I said, no this should be a spot foul. He did it from the previous spot anyway.

The next day I got an email from him saying he was wrong and I was right after all. This is rare, because he knows the rules way better than I do. He told me next time I should be assertive and stop him from making mistakes.

The game was actually very well played and was tied 20-20 for a period of time. We did have a player ejection late in the 4th quarter. I did not see the foul, but the calling official said the player took a swing at another player. That will get you tossed every time.

During the college game I earned the nickname ' twinkle toes'. And yes, I'll explain why next post.

When zero equals eleven - Part II

Varsity Game

This season I will primarily work at the Line Judge position during Varsity games. The LJ is the wing (the guy you see on the sideline) official opposite the Chains and Down Marker. My keys (what I focus on) are watching the line of scrimmage, the tackle on my side of the line, the 'inside' receiver, and then the back coming out of the back field. When passes occur I help the Back Judge on rulings. I have forward progress all the way to the goal line. On an interception, I do something called 'fade mechanics' where I have to back peddle all the way back to the opposite goal line.

My sideline was well behaved and I had no issues with the new sideline rule. The new rule is really an old rule, but now it has teeth. The bottom line is there is no longer a 'coaches box'. The next time you watch a game look at the team area. You'll notice a wide white area about 2 yards wide. It is now called the restricted area. Only officials are allowed in this area during the live ball. Coaches are allowed to step into this area during the dead ball period between downs, but otherwise they are restricted. Everyone is restricted except officials. This means the stat girl, the guy from the news, even the Athletic Director from the school. And the restricted area runs from end zone to end zone. Violations go against the Head Coach. The foul sequence goes -- warning, 5 yards, and then 15 yard unsportsmanlike.

My way of dealing with this was to stand at the back of the restricted zone and when the play was about to start, I would step forward to the sideline. This was the clue to the coaches they should step out of the restricted area. This seemed to work nicely.

Tonights contest was between cross-town rivals, so play was a bit cranked-up. As the game progressed, and the winners clearly began to dominate, the tempers began to flare and I had to get between players a bit more than normal. There was one play with about 3 minutes remaining in the 4th I wish I had seen more of. I threw a flag for illegal helmet contact against a player from the losing team. I am absolutely sure of the illegal contact. This happened right in front of me as the runner was going to the ground. I was focusing on progress and the ball carrier at this time. What was in doubt was whether he was 'targeting' the victim. Was his intention to punish him? I did not see the entire lead-up to the contact. I'm pretty sure it was spearing aiming above the head - and ejection-able act. If I had seen one or two steps prior to the contact I would have tossed the player.

What should happen is my Umpire, Referee, or Back Judge should help me on this. They are supposed to be doing clean-up after the ball goes away from them. Everyone's focus changes during the play depending upon what is happening. As the play ends near the sidezone, the wing official is no longer focusing on blocks but rather the ball carrier. The other officials know this (or they should) and they in turn 'widen' their view to pick crap around the ball carrier or stupid stuff away from the play. I got no help.

Ironically, the young man who did the 'attacking' was the most hurt by the act. He was on the field for about two minutes before he got up.

The final score was 36-12.