Be the Referee: Most Important Line
October 31, 2019
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains what the goal line means for offenses, defenses and special teams in high school football.
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 - Most Important Line - Listen
There’s an old saying in football officiating that the most important line on the field is the goal line.
This is certainly true when it comes to touchdowns, as the high school rule is just like that at the college and pro level, where all the ball has to do is break the plane for the score.
One unique part of the goal line under high school rules deals with kicks. Whenever a kickoff or a punt breaks the plane of the goal line, it becomes a dead ball with an automatic touchback. Now, whenever the defense gets possession of the ball in the end zone, it can return a fumble or interception out of the end zone for advancement, except if it’s on an extra point or any time in overtime.
Past editions
Oct. 24: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Oct. 17: Catch Momentum - Listen
Oct. 10: Golf Rules Changes - Listen
Oct. 3: No Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 26: You Make the Overtime Call - Listen
Sept. 19: Swimming Finishing Touch - Listen
Sept. 12: Curbing Gamesmanship By Substitution - Listen
Sept. 5: Football Safety Rules Changes - Listen
Aug. 29: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/24
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 13, 2024
1. TRACK & FIELD Zeeland East’s girls – ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – won their seventh straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship meet title, and LPD1 No. 3 Zeeland West won on the boys side – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys | Athletic.net
2. TRACK & FIELD The LPD1 No. 4 Traverse City West girls extended their Big North Conference championship meet streak to three, while Central’s boys ended West’s three-year title run – Traverse City Record-Eagle | Athletic.net
3. BASEBALL Division 1 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice shut out Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 3-0 in the Catholic High School League Bishop championship game – Oakland Press
4. BOYS LACROSSE Temperance Bedford clinched a share of its first Southeastern Conference Red title in this sport with a 16-6 win over Ann Arbor Huron – Monroe News
5. TRACK & FIELD The Corunna boys and Owosso girls repeated as Flint Metro League Stars meet champions, and the Linden girls and Fenton boys won in the Stripes – Owosso Argus-Press | Athletic.net
6. TRACK & FIELD Sturgis swept Wolverine Conference championship meet wins – Sturgis Journal | Athletic.net
7. TRACK & FIELD The Freeland girls and Saginaw Heritage boys won Korf/Schultz Saginaw County Invitational team titles – Saginaw News | Athletic.net
8. TRACK & FIELD Bay City Western swept Bay County championships, the boys for the 15th-straight season and the girls for the fifth consecutive – Bay City Times | Athletic.net
9. GIRLS LACROSSE Novi defeated Flint Powers Catholic 16-6 as the Wildcats’ Ally Katinas scored her 100th goal this season and 200th of her career – Oakland Press
10. TRACK & FIELD The LPD2 No. 5 Hudsonville Unity Christian girls and No. 2 Hamilton boys won O-K Blue meet titles, while the LPD1 top-ranked East Kentwood girls and No. 2 Rockford boys won in the O-K Red – Holland Sentinel | Athletic.net Blue | Athletic.net Red
Also of note …
TRACK & FIELD Northville swept the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet titles – Livingston Daily Press & Argus | Athletic.net
TRACK & FIELD The Hart girls and North Muskegon boys won West Michigan Conference Rivers championship meets – Ludington Daily News | Athletic.net
TRACK & FIELD The Ludington girls and LPD2 No. 7 Whitehall boys won in the WMC Lakes – Ludington Daily News | Athletic.net