Had the ball been possessed by the receiving team then knocked loose into the end zone and recovered, I believe, it was a TD.

 

A muffed punt cannot be advanced and if it crosses the goal line it is a touchback. If it is recovered in the field of play (fallen on or picked up) it is dead at that point.

 

I learned this rule the hard way playing for Bowling Green way back in 1968. We muffed a punt at Tilghman about the 40 yd line. Tilghman picks it up and runs it in for a TD. It was a rule then and remains so today.

 

But, guess what, the record book shows Tilghman won.

What Mayfield should have done is told the ref's , you guys have got this wrong, 1st and ten NCC. Then when Mayfield scored in the 4th qter and they called a the phantom block in the back , hey ref's you got that call wrong too. Touchdown Mayfield.

 

Difference is this is not a judgment call like holding or blocks in the back. This is simply not knowing the rules and it takes away from the efforts of players on both teams.

What Mayfield should have done is told the ref's , you guys have got this wrong, 1st and ten NCC. Then when Mayfield scored in the 4th qter and they called a the phantom block in the back , hey ref's you got that call wrong too. Touchdown Mayfield.

I wasn't even gonna bring that up.

Difference is this is not a judgment call like holding or blocks in the back. This is simply not knowing the rules and it takes away from the efforts of players on both teams.

Judgement? How do you have a block in the back from the 1 yard line?

Judgement? How do you have a block in the back from the 1 yard line?

Or a phantom facemask after the runner was already downed (on a pass that hit the ground, but called complete)

Officiating crew throughou the game looked more like one you would find at a Caverna - Fulton City matchup.

In the end it comes down to the white hat. There was a game this year in which the crew wrongly enforced the same rule twice. Members of the crew, and the HC tried to get it correctly enforced. The white hat made the call to wrongly enforce it.

Judgement? How do you have a block in the back from the 1 yard line?

 

Well it is possible in theory and the official was calling a penalty he believed happened. How do all the officials in the game not know a basic rule that happens many times in the course of a season?

 

To me that is much worse than a bad call or even a missed call like the HR in the Softball Championships that was ruled a ground rule double because no one was in the correct position to see the ball go over the fence. That crew was dealt with and this crew should also be dealt with in excess of that.

Where was this crew from??

Well it is possible in theory and the official was calling a penalty he believed happened. How do all the officials in the game not know a basic rule that happens many times in the course of a season?

 

To me that is much worse than a bad call or even a missed call like the HR in the Softball Championships that was ruled a ground rule double because no one was in the correct position to see the ball go over the fence. That crew was dealt with and this crew should also be dealt with in excess of that.

 

Points were still taken off the board and We got a field goal. Yes, the officials directly put puts on our board but sometimes they can indirectly be taken off.

First I think he should have tried to field it, then when he didn't he should have run away from the play. Ball bounces into end zone no problem ball at 20.

Points were still taken off the board and We got a field goal. Yes, the officials directly put puts on our board but sometimes they can indirectly be taken off.

 

Every play involves multiple judgment calls. Since they are exactly that calls are going to be missed or called when they should not have been in the thoughts of many. That is not this situation. This is not knowing the rule and then NO ONE on the crew knowing the rule. And it was a dead ball after the call was made so there was time to make a correction had anyone on the crew known the rule. This was not a split-second judgment call.

The rule for ANY kicks crossing the goal line was put in place due to safety factors. If memory serves me correctly, back in the 90's a player was injured on a kick off (in NKY) during the playoffs. The visiting team kicked off after a score and the young man watched the ball go over his head. One of the kickoff coverage players hits the young man and caused a head injury. The discussion was about the play being over. Years ago coaches taught to play till the whistle. There was no whistle so play continued and incident happened. It was a major ordeal with the schools, refs, & the KHSAA. I won't state what the rule was called or any team names but you can look it up if anyone so desires. It's unfortunate that the refs got it wrong today but that question "what if" will forever linger...

 

This rule isn't specific to KY/KHSAA. It is a NFHS rule that is the same throughout the country. Even the two states that use college rules, Texas and Massachusets, follow this rule.

 

The other rule concerning kicks that is different, is it doesn't matter where the player is when he downs the ball....if the player is in the end zone, but the ball is not, it is not a touchback.

That's what happens when you have lesser quality officials working the state championship. It's part of the KHSAA's socialization of high school officiating.

Responsibility for forcing the ball from the field of play across a goal line is attributed to the player who carries, snaps, passes, fumbles or kicks the ball, unless a new force is applied to a grounded backward pass, kick or fumble.

 

a. The muffing or batting of a pass, kick or fumble in flight is not considered a new force; and

 

b. The accidental touching of a loose ball by a player who was blocked into the ball is ignored and does not constitute a new force.