Be the Referee: Disconcerting Acts
October 8, 2020
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains a change in football meant to reduce a form of gamesmanship at the line of scrimmage.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment - Disconcerting Acts - Listen
Among the rules changes in high school football for the 2020-21 school year is an adjustment in the penalty assessed to the defense for disconcerting acts and sounds.
Among the gamesmanship that sometimes takes place near the line of scrimmage at the start of the play, defensive players have been known to make sounds or act in a manner which otherwise might distract an offensive player waiting for the snap signal. Previously, the most egregious of these actions would be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
But beginning this year, the disconcerting act foul is a five-yard penalty. The change in the rule actually makes it more likely that this kind of behavior will be flagged, and may eventually lead to a reduction is this type of activity.
Past editions
10/1: Ball Hits Soccer Referee - Listen
9/24: Clocking the Ball from the Shotgun - Listen
Performance of the Week: Waterford Mott's Kalieb Osborne
November 17, 2023
Kalieb Osborne ♦ Waterford Mott
Senior ♦ Football
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Osborn completed 13 of 21 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns and ran 16 times for 73 yards and two more scores as Mott defeated Gibraltar Carlson 40-19 in a Division 2 Regional Final – clinching the Corsairs’ first Regional championship in this sport. Mott (10-2) faces two-time reigning Division 2 champion Warren De La Salle Collegiate in a Semifinal on Saturday at Troy Athens.
For the season, Osborn has completed 224 of 307 passes for 3,532 yards and 34 touchdowns (with just six interceptions) and run 214 times for 1,865 yards and 25 scores. The passing yardage ranks 10th in MHSAA history for a single season, and the completions, attempts and throwing TDs all rank on record book lists as well. A three-year starter at quarterback, he’s committed to sign with Toledo and also plays basketball at Mott.
@mhsaasports 🏈POW: Kalieb Osborne #football #touchdown #waterfordmott #letsgo #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏈POW: Kalieb Osborne #tiktalk #questiontime #part2 #airheads #bowling #mcdonalds #fruit #sand #night #laughing #emoji #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Past 2023-24 Honorees
Nov. 10: Tekalegn Vlasma, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Nov. 3: Colton Kinnie, Birmingham Seaholm football - Report
Oct. 27: Lauren Timpf, Macomb Lutheran North golf - Report
Oct. 20: Alena Li, Okemos golf - Report
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Waterford Mott athletic department.)