San Diego County Football Officials Association Memo
To: Crew Chiefs, Head Coaches, and Athletic Directors
CC: SDCFOA Instructors & Staff
From: Steve Coover, Instructional Chair SDCFOA
Date: 9/11/10
Re: Weekly Bulletin #3
Concussion-Like Symptoms
Did you have two concussions? Please be careful in your language (not with me but with coaches and others). What you had were two incidents where you observed and reported concussion-like symptoms and behaviors. You did not diagnose a concussion. Just for improvement purposes.
Adornment
Towels – We’re seeing a lot of different colors. Please clean this up. Towels must be solid white and unmarked.
Penalty Carryover to Kick Off on a PAT?
When a team fouls after a TD but before ready for play on extra point, you have the option of enforcing on the try or on the succeeding kick. If a team fouls after the ready for play on the try, no options, it must be enforced on the try. If the foul happens after the try is over, obviously the enforcement must be on the kick off.
Also remember, on PATs and Field goals there must be a foul on the defense PLUS a successful attempt/score for the option of the penalty being assessed at the succeeding spot. If the foul is on the offense and the kick is good, the defense will most likely accept the penalty to negate the score. If the foul is by either team and the kick is no good, we do not have a foul during a scoring play and so we have no carryover options.
Unintentional Contact Between a Non Player and an Official
We had 2 incidents of contact with an official in the restricted area on the same team (not from SD). One was for contacting an assistant coach during a free kick and the second for contacting a player during a punt. The head coach is to be ejected in this case (he wasn’t).
Entering and Exiting the Field
In addition to monitoring teams exiting and re-entering the field at half time, we must also check on the teams as they enter the stadium at the beginning of the game. We have a report of a visiting team using the home team’s sideline as they enter the field.
Mouth pieces
We’ve had multiple players with all white mouth pieces. In this case, the team can replace or “Sharpie-stripe” those prior to game start. Mouth pieces must not be completely white or completely clear.
Defense calling offense signals
Offense had 4th and 1 and used “Go” for their snap signal all game. Defensive end yelled “Go” which caused the back to jump. The referee had the false start but the umpire had the unsportsmanlike. Ruling – 15 yards for unsportsmanlike.
Head Coach Ejected
Head varsity coach is ejected during the 3rd quarter of last Friday night's game. The rule states that the coach is ejected from the stadium but the coach returned to the stands during the 4th quarter. Then the flank official observes the assistant coaches going over to the stands to get advice from the head coach. In this case, it is best to get the support of the site administrator before confronting the head coach about the rule violation. The head coach must leave the stadium area.
The following fees are in effect and are posted on the CIF Website:
Varsity Referee - $70
Other Varsity Officials - $68
JV and FROSH - $58
What's the ruling on a receiver maintaining possession out of bounds?
The receiver must complete the catch; he needs to maintain possession all the way to the ground? If the player catches the ball cleanly with at least one foot inbounds, he must complete the catch as he falls out of bounds and strikes the ground. If the ball bobbles during this action, the player is now either contacting the ground out-of-bounds, or is in the air and will next strike the ground out-of-bounds. If there is a bobble, no catch.
Horse Collar on QB
QB is horse-collared 5 yds deep in the backfield but releases the pass towards an eligible receiver as the horse collar tackle is being completed. Ruling: Horse-collar (not roughing the passer). We are using the same logic as the horse-collar tackle that ends up out-of-bounds. We will penalize as if the QB is a runner.
Player Removes Helmet During or After Play
What do you do when a player takes his helmet off 30 yards away from the ball while the play is still going on? What if he takes it off at the end of the play? In both cases the player does not verbally attack or make contact with the opposing team but does start walking toward an opponent in an aggressive manner and needs to be stopped by an official. Ruling: Totally a judgment call. If the official is having difficulty with the player, then an unsportsmanlike foul is justified. Could be for failure to wear required equipment while the ball is live, or a true unsportsmanlike foul for unsportsmanlike behavior. If the player regains composure, and no difficulties arise, no foul may be warranted.
Carlsbad’s New Scoreboard
Carlsbad's new scoreboard has a feature that when a time out is called it removes the game time and counts down 1 minute for the time out (like basketball). I think we should shut this feature off because coaches might need to see the actual game time and there is a buzzer that goes off when the time out countdown reaches 00.
TD scoring plays –
Officials should remember to dead ball officiate the players while signaling TD. Turn your head as you signal to keep the players in your sight. Don’t just stand there like a statue.
Who determines if the QB has thrown a pass from beyond the neutral zone?
Ruling: Referee has primary responsibility…always! Umpire can be there for support if confirmation is needed.
When to Extend a Period
Remember, dead ball fouls do not extend periods. Only an accepted live ball foul extends the period…as far as fouls go.
