Hey-Ref

2nd turnover by Danville. Fumble.

7-0 NCC 1st quarter. 76 yard drive following INT.

According to weather.com, Louisville weather this afternoon calls for temps near 20 F, winds near 20mph, and cloudy conditions, with only 10% chance of precipitation. Not ideal, but better than you would have thought last night.

ICN6, the local cable access channel for prep sports in NKY is going to replay the three games involving NKY teams on Saturday and Sunday. Turn to ICN6 today/tonight to see score updates of the games, and watch for the replay times. They showed them last night during the Ryle game, but I did not write them down. I believe the Ryle game will be on Saturday evening, and NCC and COvCath on Sunday.

In Ohio the 1st round games are hosted by the higher seeded team. All rounds after that are neutral site games. In Ohio this includes college and high school venues with enough seating capacity. The smaller high school divisions pay at larger high school fields, while the larger divisions play at college fields, or other neutral sites. In Ohio there are many artificial turf sites to host multiple games in a single day. In the Cincinnati/Dayton area that includes PBS, UC, UD, Miami, and several high schools with seating over 7000 or 8000. In Ky there just aren't that many locations to make this type of arrangement possible or even preferrable. In the Lousiville area they have routinely used Cardinal Stadium and Papa Johns for early round games, but they have a large enough fan base to make that possible, and even preferrable. The bottom line in KY is that this just doesn't make much sense statewide.

I don't believe I've ever called a face mask penalty on the runner using a stiff arm. Quite honestly, I don't see too many stiff arms by runners, and if I did see the runner grasp one, I would call it. This rule is in the books for purely safety reasons.

To add to what FBRules posted, this is a foul by any player, offensive or defensive. When officials see a hand on or near the facemask they look for fingers hooking or grasping the mask bars, or helmet opening. If a runner places his stiff arm hand on the defender's facemask but does not grasp it, it is not a foul. If he hoooks his fingers in the mask or grasps the mask, it should be called a foul. The rule stated above applies to high school, and I believe it is the same for all levels including youth, NCAA and NFL.

The proper ruling is illegal kick by A for the kick while the ball was loose at the 2 yard line. Safety for the kicked ball exiting through the endzone. Team B has a choice to accept the two points or the illegal kicking foul. The foul for illegal kicking is 15 yards (or 1/2 the distance from inside the 30) from the previous spot, and replay 4th down.

Oldrambler, your suggestion has promise. In the current 4 division system there are 128 (4*32) teams that go to playoffs. In your format in 6 divisions, 144 (6*24) teams would go to playoffs. You get more teams in which most people seem to want, but you eliminate many of the lopsided 1 v 4 games, by keeping the 0 and 1 win teams out.

The biggest problem I have with the KHSAA playoffs system is that over the past several years about 1/3 of teams in the playoffs are .500 or less. There are too many teams in with losing records, and the mismatch between the 1 and 4 seeds is typically very great. It will only get worse under the 6 division format, as far more teams are awarded berths.

Bullwinkle is correct in describing the signal, but let me add... A valid fair-catch signal must be given while the kick is in flight (before it is grounded or touched by R). Invalid fair catch signal is a 5 yard penalty.

The Block in the Back rule was changed in 2002, and the following description is taken directly from the NFHS and KHSAA rules clinic documentation. BLOCK IN THE BACK (2-5): This change clarifies the definitions for clipping and blocking in the back. The primary change states that clipping occurs at or below the waist, from the back of the opponent and is a 15-yard foul and that a block inside the shoulders, below the neck and above the waist shall be considered a block in the back and a 10- yard foul. In various nationwide surveys, officials have been reluctant to call clipping fouls for contact above the waist, due in part because of the perceived severity of the penalty. This change also clarifies that the back is the area between the arms (but not including the shoulders) and above the waist and below the neck. Nothing about this provision implies or states that excessive contact above the waist could not be called a personal foul and therefore be enforced with a 15-yard penalty. Officials are taught that you need to see the entire action in order to properly rule on it.

You got me on my typo. lumping = jumping. Actually, the foul is for hurdling, and this player hurdled the snapper. No getting around it. Now, which official saw it to call it? The Referee is not looking that way, he is protecting the kicker and holder. The HL on the far sideline is looking down the line, but he could not see it from his angle. The umpire is probably too close to the play to see this. The LJ andBJ are under the goal post to rule on the kick, which never made it that far. Either of them probably could have made this call. But it's not something you see as an official, and that's not really a good excuse for missing it. One person claims it was so athletic it should not be called. There are lot's of people who could hurdle the snapper, so it was not that great of athletic ability. It should have been called a foul.

Hurdling is an attempt by a player to lump with one or both feet or knees foremost over an opponent who is contacting the round with no part of his body except one or both feet. This play was illegal and the defender who blocked the kick definetly hurdled his opponent. The penalty is 15 yards for a personal foul.

The NFHS has defined a free blocking zone (FBZ). The FBZ is: 4 yards left and right of the ball where it is snapped 3 yards forward and backward from the line of scrimmage The FBZ is in effect as long as the ball is in that rectangular shaped area. Blocking below the waist is legal when the following conditions are all met... a. all players involved are on the line of scrimmage and in the FBZ at the snap (for team B this means within 1 yard of the neutral zone). b. the contact is inside the FBZ Clipping is permitted in the FBZ when the following conditions are all met... a. by offensive lineman who are on the line of scrimmage and in the FBZ at the snap b. against defensive players who are on the line of scrimmage and in the FBZ at the snap c. The contact is in the FBZ Blocking in the back is permitted when the following conditions ar met... a. by offensive lineman who are on teh line of scrimmage and in the FBZ at the snap b. against defensive players who are in the FBZ at the snap c. the contact is in the FBZ None of the above actions are legal after the ball leaves the FBZ. If the QB is in shotgun formation he is technically outside the FBZ, so the long snap (ball) leaves the FBZ quickly. It is determined therefore that such blocks listed above are legal only if they occur immediately after the snap.

What you describe a chop block. Here is a simple way to know if a double team is legal: 1. First player contacts opponent high, and second player low - Chop Block 2. First player contacts opponent low, and second player high - legal block 3. First player contacts opponent low, and second player low - Chop Block 4. First player contacts opponent high, and seccond player high - legal block 4. Both players contact opponent simultaneously high or low - legal block

Suffice to say that the holder is not down while holding the ball to be kicked. Offside's rule reference is the correct one. The holder may rise to catch a bad snap, and can return his knee to the ground to hold for the kick without being ruled down. If the play calls for a fake kick, or if the play simply goes wrong, the holder must rise from his knee before running or passing the ball.

As an official I would be extremely hesitant to penalize a football team for something the band in the stands did. I would think that telling the band director to stop would be sufficient. If the opposing QB told me he could not call signals over the band, then I would stop the clock, stop the band and continue play. If this did not quiet the band, then I would involve school administrators who are responsible for the overall game venue and spectators. As an official I only officiate the game, not the fans and bands.

General, please provide specific rule text and rule reference!

There is no rule that specifically mentions bands playing during games in the high school rulebooks. None! However, rule 9-9-1 says "A player or nonplayer or person not subject to the rules shall not hinder play by any unfair act which has no specific rule coverage." The penalty for violating this rule is anything the referee considers equitable, including awarding a score.

Joe, not having seen the play I cannot tell you why the officials called offsides (encroachment is the proper word to use here) and false start. There was probably movement on both sides of the ball, the officials needed to settle which one to penalize. Did the defender's movement cause the offense to false start? If so, then the penalty is against the defense. If not, the it on the offense. It may actually be that both penalties were correct and the double fouls offset. This is rare, but sometimes the officials cannot distinguish which foul occurred first, and both players are at fault. The neutral zone if the length of the football at rest prior to the snap. No player from either team is allowed in the NZ except the snapper who must have his hands on the ball to snap. If a player steps into the NZ, leans into or across the NZ then this is encroachment. If an A player's action simulates action at the snap prior to the snap, then this is a flase start.

Hey Old Guy, I can tell you that rule does not appear in the rule books of high school football anywhere. Where do you find such a rule that applies to the band? I can tell you there is a rule 9-9-1 which states "A player, nonplayer or person not subject to the rules shall not hinder play by an unfair act which has no specific rule coverage". This rule could be applied to the band in such a situation. Under this rule the referee may enforce any penalty he considers equitable, inlcuding the awarding of a score. However, as an official I have personally heard many bands in KY play during the plays, especially while the opponent is on offense. While this is generally considered in poor taste, it is generally not considered a foul, and is rarely if ever penalized.

Cardrock, there are no kicker friendly balls in high school. Kickers do not get the luxury of over-inflated sanded down kicking balls. Every ball used in the game gets inspected and must meet standards. Only legal balls approved by the referee may used in the game.

Yes, if the runner's helmet comes off his head the ball becomes dead at that spot. This only applies to the runner, the person in possession of the ball.

Sorry, the viaduct I was thinking of would be further left in this photo and not visible from this angle. Where the resevoir was torn down is now softball fields. Part of the wall is still stnading, and people use it for rock climbing and repelling.