SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL - August 12, 2026
1st and 2nd Year Classes – Meet at Mira Mesa – We’re nearing the end of your meetings every week. You’ve done a great job with your attendance, which is important as we get you prepared for your clinics and scrimmages. Then you’re ready for some youth games! Keep up the great work!
When Communicating with Your Head Coach – It is best to stay close to the rule book terminology when providing foul information or answering his question, “What did he do?” These categories will not only help us assess whether a foul has occurred but can keep our reports to the coach more succinct and to the point. They are in order from most common, least common.
Categories - Blocking, Holding, Illegal Use of Hands – page 160 1 - Grab and Restrict 2 - Hook and Restrict 3 – Takedown (includes pullover) 4 - Tackle
Categories - Defensive Pass Interference – page 159-160 - Not playing the ball is an indicator, it is not a foul! 1 - Grabbing and Restricting 2 – Early Contact 3 – Playing Through the Back 4 – Arm Bar 5 – Hook and Restrict 6 - Cutting Off
Categories - Offensive Pass Interference 1 - Creating Separation 2 - Blocking Downfield 3 - Driving Through the Defender
More Communication Reminders and Tips - Mike Aaronian is a Back Judge in the Mountain West Conference and the CIF Liaison for the North Coast Section officials. I've attached the notes from his outstanding presentation he made yesterday at Livermore High School. The Contra Costa Officials and the Mission Valley Officials kicked off their season and Mike was a great presenter of this valuable information. Thank you for sharing with all our officials in CA as we continue to share best practices throughout our state!
Video from Scrimmage – Most everyone should receive video from your scrimmage. Please let me know if your scrimmage didn’t show up. I’m sure it’s my fault somehow!
Scrimmages This Week – Good luck with your scrimmages. We finally get to work together, knock off the rust, and to discover areas where we need to improve. Keep a record of your fouls and practice filling out a full foul report. Then, get those cut ups prepared for your mid-week (zoom?) meeting where you can do 30-minutes of video evaluation from the scrimmage, 15-minutes of individual and crew goal setting for the week, and then 15-minutes of looking at scouting film from the teams you’ll have opening week. Send me an email if you need some film.
Home Team Game Information – I’ve emailed access to this information to all crew chiefs. If you need someone else to have access let me know. Use it for your mid-week preparation and logistics. Please update as we go along as you will find it is a bit outdated in areas. Please do the same with the Stadium Microphone info in that google document. Thank you.
Clean Up Locker Rooms – Please remember to clean up after you finish using the locker room. We are guests of the school and always want to leave a good impression of our professionalism!
“Coach, We Need Help With Your Player” –I recently asked several high school coaches how they liked to be approached with this request for help. All three stated that they would definitely want that request to come to them, not their assistant coaches. Good to know! Plus, even if they respond with their own request that you watch the other team’s player as well, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t hear the request, and that they don’t fully intend to help and do something such as pull their kid out of the game. Again, great advice!
2025 Ejection/Disqualification Procedure Steve Coover will coordinate ejections for all levels of high school football games (but NOT Youth Football). These procedures apply to all levels of San Diego Section, CIF Sanctioned high school games. Please refer to your applicable youth assigner for ejection procedures for youth games. Make sure that your ejection call can be supported by rule. Calling an ejection. Flag the play. Do not immediately eject the player. Discuss the foul with the crew-chief/referee and any other officials that saw the action. If the general consensus is that the foul should result in an ejection, the crew-chief and the official that called the foul should notify the offender’s head coach that the player has been ejected and the reason for the ejection. If the official that made the call is the crew-chief, he should be accompanied by the flank official on the side of the offending team. Although permitted by rule, do not eject a fan, parent, administrator or others that are not in the team box. Refer this ejection to the site administrator, or in the absence of a site administrator, to the home team head coach for removal of this individual. Reporting ejections: Call Steve Coover the next day, (619-921-3006), with the ejection. Go to the San Diego CIF website at www.cifsds.org Hover your curser over OFFICIALS and select EJECTION MANAGER On the next screen it requires your password which is: 123 Complete the form. When finished, select Steve Coover as the Liaison. Then press SAVE. You’re done.
Food For Thought – When a forward fumble goes out of bounds or is ruled out of bounds between the goal lines, the ball shall be returned to the spot of the fumble. True 4-3-1 EXCEPTION
When a foul is committed with less than two minutes remaining in either half, the offended team will have the option to start the game clock on the snap. True 3-4-7
The referee shall have the authority to correct obvious errors in timing by the play clock if the discovery is prior to the snap. True 3-4-9
When properly placed, the goal line pylon is inbounds at the intersection of the sideline and the goal line extended. False 1-2-4
Free-kick, K-40. Other than the kicker, no player may be more than 5 yards behind the kicking team’s free kick line. A kicking team player may straddle the line 5-yards behind the free kick line, one foot on one side of the line, one foot on the other side of the line. False (6-1-3b) With the exception of the kicker, all players must be in front of the yard line 5-yards behind the free kick line. Officials on K’s restraining line should ensure all players are lined up legally before the ready for play.
Free kick, K-40. Kicker K1 kicks the ball from the tee high into the air in an area with very few R players. K20 catches the kick at the R-40, before it has touched the ground, and runs to the R-35 where he is tackled. Since Team K cannot advance a kick, the next play will be K, 1/10, R-40. False (6- 1-6, 6-5-6) When any free or scrimmage kick in flight, Team K may not touch (unless blocked into) or obstruct Team R’s path to the ball. This is kick catch interference.
Free kick, K-40. K54, on the far side of the kicker, has one foot down on the K-41 and takes another step forward at the time of the kick. Illegal, Encroachment on the kicking team, dead-ball foul. Stop the play and enforce the 5- yard penalty from the previous spot.(6-1-3a) Encroachment by K during a free kick is a dead-ball foul, Team R can only enforce this foul from the previous spot. Unless Team K attempts an onside kick, the officiating standard is that a Team K player needs to have one foot down beyond the free kick line for this to be a foul..
Free-kick, K-40. After the Ready for Play signal, K3 is standing on the K-33. K19, who is legally lined up at the K-36 runs with the kicker and kicks the ball in an attempt to surprise Team R with an onside kick. At the time of the kick, Team K had 4 players on each side of the ball. This is a legal onside kick. False (6-1-3) Once the ball is signaled Ready for Play and Team K has a player beyond the 5 yards from the Team K restraining line, that player is the only player that is legally allowed to kick the ball. This “player designation” only changes after a team timeout and the Ready for Play is signaled again.
Free-kick, K-40. 0:45 in the 4th quarter, Team K is trailing Team R. 20-24. K has 4 players to the left of the kicker and 6 players to the right of the kicker when the Referee blows the whistle for the ready to play. When the kicker gives a signal, K40 goes in motion from the left side of the kicker at the K-39 and turns up field and is on the right side of the kicker when the ball is kicked. Dead-ball foul, Illegal Formation. K must have at least 4 players on each side of the kicker when the ball is kicked. (6-1-4; 6.1.4)
