Jambun82

Rumor has it that the 2012 semifinal playoff game was extremely well-officiated.

I have never seen that scenario happen, but presumably it might happen in a game. The official yelling "Play's Over" waits until he/she knows for sure that the play is over before calling that out. If a runner was not clearly down, no good official would call that out, it would be left up to the wing officials to determine if forward progress was stopped, in which case those officials would blow their whistles.

A good umpire or back judge will yell " Play's Over" as soon as a play ends. That reduces the chance of an inadvertent whistle. A whistle will usually be blown when the play is over in High School Football about 90-95% of the time anyway because High School Coaches think that the whistle ends the play, and player safety is paramount.

Perspective, I will try to answer your questions. 1. The reason why officials seem to hesitate to blow their whistles is because the whistle very rarely ends the play itself. Usually, the result of the play, such as a runner running out-of-bounds or a receiver making a catch on the ground. In those type of situations, a defensive player is not going to make a tackle or hit an offensive player after that action just because a whistle did not blow. Forward progress can be tricky, and it is usually better to wait to blow the whistle, and then determine the result of the play instead of blowing a whistle immediately which automatically ends the play. 2. The coaches teaching the players to play to the whistle is incorrect, and most officials would urge coaches to stop teaching that phrase. The result of the play ends the play, not the whistle unless it is an inadvertent whistle. 3. By the letter of the rule the officials do not have the authority to send out a player to the sideline. However, there is an understanding among coaches and officials of the idea of a penalty box, meaning an official can point out to a coach that one of his players is getting out of control, and needs a 'cooling off' period without drawing a penalty. The player then can come back into the game at the coaches discretion. I do not know of one high school coach who has every declined this arrangement. 4. That sounds like a blown call by the officiating crew.

No, but for the record, I have a lot of respect for the Madison County Head Football Coach. The Cowboys are a great program.

Just a Coach, do Perspective and I get to share the Samsonite briefcase of cash? Also, does either of us get the lady? A million to one, YES you are telling me that there is a chance!

I thought officials, or people who defend officials on High School Football message boards, should NEVER get angry and definitely not ever put any type of hand on anyone. What about the growing number of female players, coaches, and officials involved with the sport football? They would not consider football to be a man's sport. Also, remember in 2020, a man, woman, transgender, or alien should NEVER be judged by who they love. Badbird, I thought that you were more evolved that that. lol

Thank you, I always look forward to your posts as well.

Perspective, why don't you just admit that you always look forward to my screen name, and cannot wait for what I have to say about any topic? lol

Yes, I know what screen name RD used on the other message boards. The initials for that screen name were SB. Badbird, I take it that you know what other former Head Coach that I am talking about. lol

Badbird, are Just A Coaches initials RD? Or did he used to coach at a school in Seminole County with the same nickname as an NFL team who has had a lot of success in the last 20 years? lol

Badbird, I think that you might have confused him with another Coach.

Yes.

Just A Coach, you are the type of Coach that most parents want to help their children. Also, most kids want to be coached and helped to the most of their abilities.

Most officials do put aside the biases, but it is only human for them to think differently of certain Head Coaches, whether positive or negative. Officials may also block schools/teams in which he/she prefers not to deal with a particular Head Coach. Head Coaches also have a responsibility to set a proper example for the young players in their care/concern. Treating officials poorly and with disrespect does not set that proper example in my personal view.

No, but in about 7 years most people will lose any kind of connection with people that they would know personally from that school. Officials could always block a school/team if he/she felt that there would be too much bias for that team/school.

This is correct, Just A Coach.

Perspective, this just about sums what happens oftentimes with officials. Good post.

Just A Coach, thank you for the first statement. However, while most officials might know who or what type of power IMG is, they probably would not know about all of their prospects or even care about any kind of rankings. Most officials just want to give back to the sport, and the players, especially in this very unusual year. Then again, as you would well know, some Head Coaches are easier to deal with and more reasonable than others. Officials are human, and certainly have certain Head Coaches that they would prefer over others, but also most officials would like to officiate the better teams, not only because of the quality of play, but also the sense of importance of the particular game.

Yes, officials are allowed to reside in the same county of the location of games that they are officiating. Officials cannot officiate any particular teams/schools in which they have any family working or attending. Also, officials cannot officiate any team/school in which that official has graduated in the past 7 years.

HornetFan, one of the reasons that a school like Bishop Moore might see the same officials most weeks is because the Assigner for officials knows the that Hornets are a perennial playoff team, and therefore they should be provided some of the better officials in the Association for most of their games. This would also be true of Apopka, Edgewater, Seminole, First Academy etc.

HornetFan most officials wouldn't even know what kind of power IMG is. Most officials don't follow High School Football like posters to this message board do.

Proseteye, that is only for the postseason. Most officials have day jobs, and might not get off of work until around 5:00 pm, so it would be hard for them to travel, especially on roads such as I-4 on a Friday. The only possible reason that an official might commit "home cooking" as it is called, is because some Head Coaches and ADs have been known to threaten officials that their contract with their Association will not be renewed, or a specific official will be "scratched" from officiating any more of that teams games if the coach does not get officiating more to their liking. It is very rare, and I would say that the great majority of High School Football Coaches are fair-minded, and are involved for the players, but that is not true of all coaches.

Yes, commentators have eyes, but most commentators don't understand rules that might be specific to NFHS. Also, most commentators look at slow-motion replays several times while dissecting a call/foul, a luxury that officials do not have. I don't know how you make a statement that "home cooking is prevalent enough that it doesn't go away year in and year out", but then again, I have been to Bryant Stadium a few times, and have seen the behavior sometimes exhibited there. The FHSAA will never get ALL officials to be 100% unbiased I would agree, but the first per-game raise that high school football officials in Florida have received in 13 years will help maybe recruit and retain better officials. Defending officiating has NEVER been a pointless exercise for me.

Thank you HornetFan, but if you start believing commentators when it comes to officiating, you will be disappointed. Also, you will find that "home cooking" officiating is not as prevalent as some would believe. Most officials could care less about which team wins any particular game. Unfortunately, I missed the game.