Week 4 Notes

Band

• We are not trying to be the Band Police. If both bands are playing and nobody is complaining, let them play. If the band abruptly starts to play in an attempt to cause a false start from the opponents, the coach is to complain to the officials that there is a problem. This rarely happens but when it does, officials are to step in and address the issue (Rule 1-1-6).

Coach’s Box

• A maximum of 3 coaches may be in the coach’s area (first 6 feet of sidelines). Everyone else must be more than 6 feet from the sidelines (Rule 9-8-3).

Kicking Balls

• There are not to be any special footballs designated for kicking. If a team provides footballs that are similar with an additional “kicking ball”, disallow the “kicking ball” (Rule 1-3-3).

Illegal Equipment

• Towels: We are seeing more towels that look like streamers (illegal). They must be all white, no less than 4 inches in width / 12 inches in length and no greater than 18 inches in width / 36 inches in length (Rule 1-5-3 Notes: 3k).
• Knee Pads/Pants: Knee pads are to be worn over the knees. Pants are to cover knees and knee pads (Rules 1-5-1d & e).
• Knee Braces: Unless covering is provided by the manufacturer, any portion of the brace made of hard material and extending below the pants must be covered. (Rule 1-5 Notes 3d)
• Mouth Pieces: Players with clear or all white mouth pieces are being sent off the field and not allowed to play. There has been more than adequate time to correct the problem (Rule 1-5-1i2).

Illegal Blocks by Linebackers

• Linebackers are not allowed to take out the lead blocker (usually the fullback) with low blocks (Rule 9-3-2a & b).

Hitting Option Quarterbacks

• If a quarterback is running an option play and continues to fake a bootleg, it is not unreasonable to assume that the defense will attempt to hit/tackle the quarterback. If it is obvious that the quarterback no longer has the ball and a defensive player still wants to hit the quarterback, the defensive player may be subject to a personal foul. When in doubt, it becomes a judgment call for the referee. The call is similar to a quarterback throwing the ball then a defensive player hitting the quarterback. (Rules 9-4-3b, 9-4-3g and 9-4-4)

Officials:

Arriving On Time

• Officials need to be on time to the games. If you are working an afternoon game and your partner is late, please let Paul Wyllie know about this! We understand that things do come up but we also know that some guys are taking advantage of the situation.

Additional Make-Up Meetings

• We have scheduled two additional make-up meetings on October 10^th & October 17^th at El Modena H.S. @ 7:00 pm. I will not give any test at these two meetings. These are strongly recommended for newer officials.