Be the Referee: Point After Touchdown
October 20, 2016
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how high school rules differ from those used by colleges when it comes to what's allowed after extra-point tries.
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 – Point After Touchdown - Listen
For many years at the pro and college levels of football, the P-A-T or the extra point kick, really became a ho-hum play.
Last year in the NFL, they tried to make the play more exciting by moving the kickers back, making it almost the distance of a medium-range field goal.
Under college rules, they allow the other team – the defense, whenever they get the ball – to try to return it all the way to the other end with the ability to score two points.
The next high school game you’re at, know this: that once the defensive team gets possession of the ball on an extra point or try for point, the try is over and the defense cannot score any points.
Past editions
Oct. 13: Untimed Down - Listen
Oct. 6: Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen
Sept. 29: Preparation for Officials - Listen
Sept 22: You Make the Call: Returning Kickoffs - Listen
Sept. 15: Concussions - Listen
Sept 8: Equipment Covering the Knees - Listen
Sept. 1: Play Clock Experiment - Listen
Aug. 25: Clipping in the Free Blocking Zone - Listen
Be the Referee: Trickery & Communication
October 24, 2018
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains a key piece of communication that takes place between football referees and coaches during pregame.
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 – Trickery & Communication - Listen
One of the long-time strategies in the game of football is deception. It has lots of other names, and most often goes these days by the name of trickery. Catching an opponent off-guard can break a game wide open. But catching the officiating crew off-guard is something you don’t want to have happen or else your big play may be blown dead inadvertently.
That’s why during the pre-game meeting the officiating crew has with each head coach, one of the questions that will be asked is – “Coach, do you have any trick plays we should be watching for?” And coaches, who are usually tight lipped about a lot of their strategies, will be very open and describe in detail anything fancy that’s in the playbook for that game.
This type of communication gets coaches and officials on the same page and ensures that when trickery comes visiting, only the opponents are surprised.
Past editions
October 18: Punts & Missed Field Goals - Listen
October 11: What Officials Don't Do - Listen
October 4: Always 1st-and-Goal - Listen
September 27: Unique Kickoff Option - Listen
September 20: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
September 13: Soccer Rules Change - Listen
September 6: You Make the Call: Face Guarding - Listen
August 30: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
August 23: Football Rules Changes - Listen