By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Veteran high school football and basketball official Adam Loudin, a 2006 Waterloo High School graduate, has partnered with Portage Sports to help share some officiating perspectives in a weekly series titled “Under Review.”

TODAY’S TOPIC

OFFICIATING MECHANICS

(Part 2 of 2)

Read Part One here.

There are several plays in a high school football game, including various formations that feature motion, multiple receiver sets and other variables.

However, they all fundamentally fall into four categories:

   • Kickoff

   • Run play

   • Pass play

   • Punt

KICKOFF

Referee: Positioned in the middle of the field on the goal line. He checks his 11 count with the head linesman and line judge. He blows the ready for play, signaling the kicker that he is free to kick the ball. The referee will officiate the returner, looking for blocks in the middle of the field in front of the returner. He will also look for receiving-team players that may be in “chase mode.” Typical fouls that a referee sees during the live-ball period, during the return, are holding and illegal blocks in the back, while also looking for illegal low blocks.

Head Linesman and Line Judge: Each are positioned on a pylon. Both officials verify their 11 count with the referee. The wing officials are primarily responsible for the ball and runner and their relationship to the goal line. All kickoffs are dead when they enter the end zone. If the ball is caught in the field of play and returned, the wing officials are responsible for winding the game clock to be started.

Once the return has started, the wing officials work the play from the “outside in.” They initially clear any action near the sideline or the closest outside action to them and work back toward the ball-carrier. They are also responsible for kicks out of bounds. They are looking for holding and illegal blocks in the back and will mark the forward-progress spot if necessary.

Umpire: Initially positioned on the sideline opposite the press box at the receiving team’s restraining line. The umpire, along with the back judge, counts 11 players of the kicking team. The umpire also keeps his beanbag in hand in anticipation of an onside or pooch kick, while also being responsible for the kick going 10 yards, if it has or has not touched the ground and also if the receiving-team player is in the area to catch a short kick.

On a normal kickoff, the umpire will wait for the kick to clear, then moves into the field on a 45-degree angle to an area between the 9-yard marks and the hash mark. The umpire will then work the play from the “inside out.”

Back Judge: Initially positioned on the kicking team’s restraining line on the sideline nearest the press box. Along with the umpire, counts the 11 players on th kicking team. They will also start with the bean bag in hand in anticipation of an onside kick. The back judge is responsible to make sure that no members of the kicking team are offside. Like the umpire, the b ack judge then works the kickoff from the “inside out.” The back judge is also in position to rule on dead-ball fouls and other illegal acts during the live- and dead-ball periods.

PRE-SNAP

Referee: Whistles the ball ready and signals his 11 count to the umpire. Observes the tackle on his side of the field, quarterbacks and backfield players for fall starts or illegal movement.

Head Linesman/Line Judge: Responsible for making sure all plays start legally. This begins by ensuring an accurate spot of the ball. They line up receivers, make sure the center legal snaps the ball, officiates tackles and wing backs on their side for false starts.

Umpire: After spotting the ball, the umpire will move to his position between 7 to 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. He will verity an 11 count with the referee, then focuses on the center and two guards for false starts.

Back Judge: The deepest official on the defensive side of the ball, lining up approximately 17 to 20 yards from the line of scrimmage. Tasked with the play clock, and counting 11 players on defense.

RUN PLAYS

Referee: Initially keys the backs and the front-side tackle. Officiates the exchange between quarterback and running back. If the play runs to the front side, the referee will “open the door” and officiate blocks at the point of attack, where the action is happening. If the play goes away from the referee, they “clean up” the back side and make sure that there is no illegal action happening behind the play.

Head Linesman/Line Judge: Focus on receivers and wing backs on their side for the legality of their blocks.

Umpire: At the snap, the umpire watches the guard-center-guard of the offensive line. Once the umpire clears this area, they will begin officiating the point of attack, watching each block for legality.

Back Judge: Once clearing the play clock, he will find the strength of the formation and key to that side. If it is a pro-set with two backs, a tight end, split end and wide receiver, the back judge will shade to the tight end-split end side as the strength because that side has the most eligible receivers. Once the ball is snapped and the back judge reads run, he immediately gets to the front side and find players in his area to officiate. The back judge has a very wide perspective on run plays and officiates blocks inside out.

PASS PLAYS

Referee: The quarterback is their primary responsibility, with a lot of variables to consider, including:

          • Location in the tackle box for intentional grounding

          • Defensive contact on the quarterback (Was it late? Was it unnecessary? Was there helmet-to-helmet contact?)

          • Empty hand or firm control of the football

The QB is the primary responsibility, but the referee still has to also officiate the front-side tackle and make sure that block starts and remains legal.

Head Linesman/Line Judge/Back Judge: These positions are put tighter for pass plays because it is imperative that they work together to identify formations and maintain eligible receivers.

Umpire: Focuses on legal blocks, while also looking for illegal players downfield and also responsible for determining if the passer crosses the line of scrimmage prior to making the pass. The wing official can also assist on these, but it is the primary responsibility of the umpire. For passes over the middle, it is also important that the umpire turns quickly to th action to help run on catch-no catch plays.

PUNT

Referee: The referee will utilize his normal mechanics for scrimmage plays. The No. 1 responsibility, though, once it is determined that a kick will happen, is to judge if the punter is fouled or not.

Head Linesman/Line Judge: Their roles are similar to pass plays. They clear the snap and the head linesman will float downfield to get an early look at blocking and action downfield. The line judge will hold the line of scrimmage and make sure the kick has crossed the neutral zone and the punter does not cross the neutral zone and illegally kick the ball.

Umpire: The first responsibility is to protect the snapper from being fouled while he is in a vulnerable position. Once one second has elapsed and the snapper can reasonable protect themselves, they can be blocked. Once all the players pass the umpire, the official will turn and locate threats for fouls and officiate inside out.

Back Judge: Their initial position is 5 yards behind and 5 yards wide to the field side of the returner. If there are two returners, the back judge will line up between them. Takes responsibility for officiating the returner and making sure he has a clean opportunity. They also look to see if the returner gives a valid or invalid fair-catch signal.