SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL – November 4, 2026
It’s Playoff Time – The top 64 ranked teams in MaxPreps made the playoff unless they were “bumped” by a conference championship team ranked lower than #64. The games should be exciting. As always, one team advances and one team’s season ends. We must respect that. Prepare extensively for your game. Be cohesive as a crew. Trust your crewmate. Do your job!! Remember, you earned this assignment; our assignor has faith in you and your work. Don’t let him or the Association down. More importantly, don’t let the players, teams or the game down! Be professional, demonstrate presence. And have fun!!!!
Congratulations San Diego College Officials – Post season assignments are coming in…so far:
SCIAC Championship Crew
B - John Gill
SCIAC DIII Playoff Crew
R - Ted Schiess
H - Jacob Wittler
B - Ben Boccoli
JC Southern California Championship Game
R – Brian Mills
U – Miles Bailey
1st Round Game Assignments are Out – If you received one, please accept it asap. If you have a chance to go to a game, go out and support your fellow officials. Adult tickets are $12. Senior (over 60) and students (5 to 18) tix are $7. Association passes are not acceptable, but you can enter with the crew. Volunteer to chart fouls!
Wilson Football Must Be Used in All Playoff Rounds – Teams may use any Wilson football of their choice, but they must use a Wilson football in all playoff games this year. The Wilson football must be in use throughout the game (not just on kick offs)
Banquet – Our banquet will be this Wednesday, November 4th at 6:00 pm. Make sure you attend as you’ve already paid for your dinner. And don’t forget to send in any stories you may have to Bob Hood. The banquet is located at the Admiral Baker Golf Course in Mission Valley just off of Friars Road.
Warm Up Period – During the playoffs, we take the field 45-minutes before kickoff. This provides additional coverage to the two teams as they warm up, allows ample time for equipment checks, our own warm ups, coach’s conference, and working plays for the two teams.
Equipment Checks – We are all to continue with the pre-game survey of teams and their legal uniforms and adornment. Keep providing those cards to the coaches and stay on this effort. We must continue in a consistent manner throughout the playoffs. Face Paint, Back Pads, Arm and Leg Bands (unless to prevent injury). Towels (4”wide minimum), and of course Knee Pads. Remember face paint is limited to one black stripe below each eye and no words or symbols are allowed, even crosses.
Knee Pads – Some players are wearing the smallest knee pads possible, then placing them at the top of the pant pocket and rolling up the extra pant underneath and up the thigh. This is illegal as the knee pad will only fully cover the knee if pushed down…then it pops up again. Send them out telling the player and the coach that he must ‘unroll” the knee pad and the pant. You can also point that out to them in the pregame and most know to unroll them.
Fix Formation Issues Early – We need clean and fair neutral zones and legal formations with tackles, tight ends, and split ends up on the LOS. Then we need a clear definition of WRs who are back off of the LOS. Work with players and head coaches to clean this up early in the game. We do not want a bunch of neutral zone infractions or illegal formation fouls. We certainly don’t want IDPs or OPIs as a result of not helping them early! After these early efforts, sometimes a penalty must result if they are not responding. Tackles must be up. WRs cannot cover up a Tight End!
Kickoff Time – Sometimes we seem to be the only ones sensitive to the game clock and kicking off on time. We are a patient and professional group, but there are times when the visiting team is standing in the cold waiting for the conclusion of some ceremony or introductions. Work with the home team AD and stick to the time schedule.
Not Enough Varsity Uniforms – Most teams like to bring up underclassmen to the varsity level during the playoffs. It is a great honor for those kids, but sometimes a school runs out of the varsity uniforms. Please be flexible as most of these athletes will not see the field anyway and as long as they are relatively uniform, we should be good to go!
Ejections – If a player is disqualified during a playoff game, the same reporting requirements exist. Please notify Steve Coover if an ejection occurs during your game.
Possible Topic for Pre-Game – Overtime, Free Kicks (last touched by K or R which go out of bounds), Trick Plays (hook and ladder, swinging gate, fake field goal or PAT), and Managing a Tough Game (tempo, separating players, keeping coaches informed).
Weekly Instructional Video – I will continue to send a Weekly Instructional Video for the next few weeks. It is a quick way to share ideas and officiating concepts and principles…and I hope fun to watch. I hope you will continue to watch games live during the playoffs if you’re not assigned. Come out and support your fellow officials as they work these extremely important games! You will always learn something new and useful. See you at the games!
Sportsmanship Winners 2026 –
TACKLE FOOTBALL WINNERS - City Conference La Jolla HS; North County Mission Hills HS; Coastal Conference O’Farrell Charter HS; Metro Conference Chula Vista HS; and Grossmont Conference West Hills HS.
FLAG FOOTBALL WINNERS - City Conference Pt. Loma HS; North County San Dieguito Academy; Coastal Conference Classical Academy; Metro Conference Olympian HS; and Grossmont Conference Valhalla HS.
Each school will be awarded a trophy from the SDCFOA and CIF, a large banner to hang in their gym, and a $1,000 check for their football program. All of this will be presented to school representatives at the Division 1 Championship Game on Friday November 27th at 7:00pm (halftime) at Southwestern College.
