Be the Referee: Untimed Down
October 13, 2016
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl discusses untimed downs in football, a hot topic given a scenario involving one of our in-state universities earlier this season.
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 – Untimed Down - Listen
A few weeks back, the Central Michigan-Oklahoma State football game generated a lot of conversation about the playing rules when any period gets extended with an untimed down.
Many times announcers will wrongly talk about an accepted defensive penalty, that it then means the offense gets one more snap. Under high school rules, whenever there’s an accepted penalty on the last play of the period, there is one untimed down. The only exceptions to this – just like the college rules – are those penalties which also bring about a loss of down.
NOTE: Penalties which bring about a loss of down are: Intentional Grounding, Illegally Handing Ball Forward, Illegal Forward Pass and Illegal Touching.
Past editions
October 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: Illegal Football Kick
October 22, 2020
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis presents a "You Make the Call" on the legality of a kicking scenario.
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 - You Make the Call: Illegal Kick - Listen
Here’s a you-make-the-call situation today. It’s fourth down and a field goal is being attempted – but the holder muffs the snap. With the loose ball rolling around, the kicker swings his leg at it and boots it through the uprights. You make the call – is this legal?
There are only two ways a ball can be legally kicked for points on a play which starts with a snap from center. One is a place kick being held by another player – the other is the rarely seen drop kick.
Had the kicker picked up the ball, dropped it to the ground and kicked it on the bounce through the uprights, the result of the play would have been a field goal. In this instance, though, a 10-yard penalty is assessed from the line of scrimmage for illegal kicking, and the opposing team takes over from that spot.
Past editions
10/15: Toe the Line on Penalty Kicks - Listen
10/8: Disconcerting Acts - Listen
10/1: Ball Hits Soccer Referee - Listen
9/24: Clocking the Ball from the Shotgun - Listen