Be the Referee: Automatic 1st Downs

October 16, 2014

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains the differences between high school and college and pro football when it comes to awarding automatic first downs.

"Be the Referee" is designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating and to recruit officials. The segment can be heard on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the school year on The Drive With Jack Ebling on WVFN-AM, East Lansing.  

Below is this week's segment - Automatic First Downs - Listen

Today we are going to talk about one of the biggest rule difference areas in high school football from those rules used in college and pro games and that deals with automatic first downs.

When watching that college game on Saturday or the pro game on Sunday, all of us know there are several defensive fouls that give the offense an automatic first down. However, under high school rules, the opposite is true most of the time. 

The only high school fouls that result in an automatic first down for the offense are the roughing fouls - roughing the passer, the kicker, the holder and the long snapper. Fouls such as defensive pass interference or any other personal foul do not bring an automatic first down under high school rules. 

Past editions
Oct. 8 - Officials & Injuries - Listen
Oct. 1 - Overtime - Listen
Sept. 25 - Field Goals - Listen
Sept. 18 - Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 11 - Pass Interference - Listen
Aug. 25 - Targeting - Listen

MHSAA's Davis Selected to Michigan Chapter of National Wrestling Hall of Fame

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 15, 2025

MHSAA Director of Officials Sam Davis – a high school champion wrestler and then highly-regarded official for more than four decades – will be inducted into the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 17 in Ann Arbor.

Davis has been selected for his lifetime service to the sport, and his list of contributions continues to grow.

After serving 32 years as a teacher and administrator and then a decade in law enforcement, Davis joined the MHSAA staff in 2017 as part of the officials department. He now directs that department and its efforts to serve more than 9,000 officials across the state.

Davis was an MHSAA Wrestling Finals individual champion at 165 pounds as a senior at Lansing Eastern High School in 1969 and also a significant contributor when the Quakers won the Class A team championship in 1968. He then joined Michigan State University’s wrestling program but suffered an eye injury as a freshman that forced him to give up competing in the sport. However, he instead took up judo, winning state championships in 1980 and 1981 and competing at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Davis previously had officiated wrestling during the 1971-72 season and returned to the high school mat for good in 1981, continuing what has turned into a 45-season career as an MHSAA registered official in the sport. He also officiated National Junior College Athletic Association Finals in 1981 and 1982, and he received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award in 2015 for his vast contributions to officiating, mentorship and officials education.

After graduating from MSU with bachelor and master’s degrees in 1974, Davis began his teaching career at Lansing Everett High School that fall. He taught history, psychology and U.S. government and coached wrestling and football and later served as an assistant principal at the school. Davis also served as principal at Dwight Rich Middle School and then district athletic director before finishing 32 years in the Lansing School District in 2007.

He then served nearly 11 years with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, retiring as a major in December 2017 and soon after joining the MHSAA staff after having contributed several seasons as a Finals official and Official in Charge managing all officials working championship matches during those events. He also has served as a longtime president of the Lansing Wrestling Officials Association.