Uncommonly enforced rules

[ncwingman]

What's the most uncommonly encountered rule you've ever had to enforce?

In refreshing for the upcoming spring season, I was reminded of the usual rules that appear on tests that are either never something we really have to deal with on game day or are so rare to cause a problem as to never be enforced. There's the obvious rules regarding field markings that we usually can't fix, such as the ubiquitous midfield logo painted over the 50 yard line, but I'm also sure that none of us have actually measured a field to verify its dimensions.

With all the rule changes regarding uniforms, have you ever had to make a home team change jerseys so that you have contrasting colors? The only time I wanted to was a peewee game where the black team was playing the dark purple team -- but they only had the one jersey, so there was nothing else to change into. Did I mention it was County Team A vs. County Team B so the only difference was the color? The design/logo/font was all the same....

On an actual game related rule, the one that started me thinking about it, was be able to move a free kick line in case of an unplayable field like a giant puddle on the 40. From what I've seen recently, if field conditions were that bad, the game would likely be suspended or called off before that became an issue and I was wondering if I'd ever see it put in practice.

[AlUpstateNY]

As the NFHS Officials Manual consistently reminds us, common sense and judgment are key factors in consistently following, and applying both the letter, and intent of NFHS rules successfully.  Expecting any set of rules to explicitly relate to EVERY possible situation is unreasonable, and impractical and would be impossible to keep updated, or practical to keep track of.

If the "puddle" in your example stretched from sideline to sideline and was so wide, or deep, to make adjustment impractical, a judgment, by the referee, who would be guided by NFHS 1-1-6 providing that the referee's decision, alone, made in the spirit of sportsmanship, would prevail.

1-1-6 relies on the judgment, maturity, impartiality and common sense of the senior game official to render a specific judgment to an equally specific and unique circumstances he is confronted with in that unique situation.  Although the ultimate decision is the referee's to make, he is not restricted from seeking advise and counsel from his crewmates and/or any other sources he chooses to consider.

[CalhounLJ]

What's the most uncommonly encountered rule you've ever had to enforce?

In refreshing for the upcoming spring season, I was reminded of the usual rules that appear on tests that are either never something we really have to deal with on game day or are so rare to cause a problem as to never be enforced. There's the obvious rules regarding field markings that we usually can't fix, such as the ubiquitous midfield logo painted over the 50 yard line, but I'm also sure that none of us have actually measured a field to verify its dimensions.

With all the rule changes regarding uniforms, have you ever had to make a home team change jerseys so that you have contrasting colors? The only time I wanted to was a peewee game where the black team was playing the dark purple team -- but they only had the one jersey, so there was nothing else to change into. Did I mention it was County Team A vs. County Team B so the only difference was the color? The design/logo/font was all the same....

On an actual game related rule, the one that started me thinking about it, was be able to move a free kick line in case of an unplayable field like a giant puddle on the 40. From what I've seen recently, if field conditions were that bad, the game would likely be suspended or called off before that became an issue and I was wondering if I'd ever see it put in practice.

One of my crew threw a flag for a player continuing to participate after he lost his lid in a playoff game this year. I don’t remember ever enforcing that one before.


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[HLinNC]

Many years ago I had an illegal numbering.  In my mind I'm saying "#5 hands off to......#5??" It was the home team.  They were wearing blue jerseys but the second #5's jersey was an older, slightly different model.

Worked a homecoming game where the court was being driven all the way around the track in convertibles.  Between the number of girls on the court and the number of convertibles available to haul them, halftime took 25+ minutes.  Our white hat, (may he RIP), was a bit of a hothead and was livid.  He wanted to go out on the field and flag the home team.   I was brought up to believe that you "Never F with the band or homecoming".  We begged him not to and he relented but it was iffy for a while.

Wasn't my game but we did have a white hat in our region make the home team change jerseys when they came out wearing a light silver gray color he deemed too close to the visitor's white.  This school uses a color combo of white, royal blue, and black and has jerseys in all three colors.  Where and why silver gray came in, I've no idea.

[dammitbobby]

I think the most uncommon one I've seen on the field was the actual fourth down fumble rule be applied. Runner fumbled at the three, fumbled forward into the EZ, recovered by another Team A player.  Not terribly uncommon, but you def don't see it often either.

[CalhounLJ]

I think the most uncommon one I've seen on the field was the actual fourth down fumble rule be applied. Runner fumbled at the three, fumbled forward into the EZ, recovered by another Team A player.  Not terribly uncommon, but you def don't see it often either.

I’m assuming you’re talking NCAA here? Because NFHS doesn’t have that rule.


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[bama_stripes]

Hurdling — in a middle school game.  And it was absolutely the correct call.

[ncwingman]

As the NFHS Officials Manual consistently reminds us, common sense and judgment are key factors in consistently following, and applying both the letter, and intent of NFHS rules successfully.  Expecting any set of rules to explicitly relate to EVERY possible situation is unreasonable, and impractical and would be impossible to keep updated, or practical to keep track of.

If the "puddle" in your example stretched from sideline to sideline and was so wide, or deep, to make adjustment impractical, a judgment, by the referee, who would be guided by NFHS 1-1-6 providing that the referee's decision, alone, made in the spirit of sportsmanship, would prevail.

1-1-6 relies on the judgment, maturity, impartiality and common sense of the senior game official to render a specific judgment to an equally specific and unique circumstances he is confronted with in that unique situation.  Although the ultimate decision is the referee's to make, he is not restricted from seeking advise and counsel from his crewmates and/or any other sources he chooses to consider.

Thanks, Al. I think you missed the point of my post though. I was hoping to have a discussion with those crazy stories you tell over beers after the game, not delve into a treatise about officiating philosophy.

[ncwingman]

Hurdling — in a middle school game.  And it was absolutely the correct call.

I've actually called hurdling a couple times. I also learned after the first time that it's a personal foul, not USC. Fortunately, that didn't have an impact on the game (he didn't pick up a second), but we had a brief discussion on the field about it *technically* being non-contact...

[AlUpstateNY]

Thanks, Al. I think you missed the point of my post though. I was hoping to have a discussion with those crazy stories you tell over beers after the game, not delve into a treatise about officiating philosophy.

Sorry, wasn't trying to present a treatise, rather point to a really simple answer.  To avoid the inevitable endless arguments, that might develop in weird, or undefined situations, the rule makers made it simple with NFHS 1-1-6.  When all else fails, and there's no rule to guide an answer, the Referee is designated, alone and exclusively, to make the official decision, as to what will stand.

It's a serious responsibility, which may very well be questioned and complained about long AFTER the fact, and hopefully all interested parties will accept and comply with it, but their agreement is NOT mandatory, or necessary for the contest to continue.

[HLinNC]

Who said anything about arguments?   Everything mentioned in this thread has rules coverage already.  Your beloved "God clause" isn't needed.

RIF

We now await the inevitable multi-paragraph epistle with lots of bold lettering .

 

[AlUpstateNY]

Who said anything about arguments?   Everything mentioned in this thread has rules coverage already.  Your beloved "God clause" isn't needed.
RIF We now await the inevitable multi-paragraph epistle with lots of bold lettering .

 

If you're not interested in information, why ask a question?

[CalhounLJ]

Who said anything about arguments?   Everything mentioned in this thread has rules coverage already.  Your beloved "God clause" isn't needed.

RIF

We now await the inevitable multi-paragraph epistle with lots of bold lettering .

 

I found a neat feature in the settings section of this site you may want to take advantage of. Will keep you from going nuts.


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[ilyazhito]

I’m assuming you’re talking NCAA here? Because NFHS doesn’t have that rule.


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dammitbobby is from Texas. They play by NCAA rules there, so the fourth-down fumble rule actually is a thing in the games he works.

[CalhounLJ]

I suspected so. Thanks for the clarification.


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[bossman72]

Many years ago I had an illegal numbering.  In my mind I'm saying "#5 hands off to......#5??" It was the home team.  They were wearing blue jerseys but the second #5's jersey was an older, slightly different model.

I had illegal numbering twice in one season as R a few years back.  Mine was for playing with less than 5 players 50-79 both times.

[dammitbobby]

I’m assuming you’re talking NCAA here? Because NFHS doesn’t have that rule.


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Yes, my bad.  I often forget to check the forum I'm responding to. 

[KWH]

I had illegal numbering twice in one season as R a few years back.  Mine was for playing with less than 5 players 50-79 both times.

I had illegal numbering as an R twice in the same game.
Swinging Gate on a try with less than 5 players numbered 50-79.
They threw a pass from "The Gate Formation" (As opposed to a SKF) and I flagged them. The coach wanted an explanation/Coaches conference and I obliged him.
Then, in the second half they did the exact same thing again. Coach wanted an explanation again and I obliged him again, (but this time I charged him with a timeout.)
Both passes were incomplete and so, both penalties were declined.

[refjeff]

I have flagged assisting the runner three times in the past two seasons, only one was in varsity game though.

I know, pushing the pile is not a foul.

[OkieZebra]

I feel like I get a hurdling (or attempted hurdling kick) call at least twice a season. Normally with F/JV guys and a little CB. Varsity kids normally know better.

Missed an illegal numbering last year on the first kickoff of the game. Two coverage guys with the same number. Return team coach flipped out that we missed it when he knew it was gonna happen. But when asked why he didn't tell us ahead of time to look for it, he said something like "If I told you, you would have made them fix it first." 

Had an illegal participation on a freshman linebacker for making a hit after he lost his helmet. Coach had no problem with that rule in the general sense, but opined that a  backer losing his helmet was likely due to illegal actions by the offense, so fouls should offset.

My rarely seen one was a coach not getting anyone from his team back on the field after halftime in a timely manner. We gave them our standard time checks but they didn't make it out in time. They were ready by the end of the warmup period, but opposing coach (losing handily and in a bad mood about it) was pretty adamant that they be penalized. Unfortunately, I administered it wrong as a delay of game and not a UNS. However, we turned it into a learning experience, and the door knockers for my crew are now under instructions not to leave the locker room without somebody, anybody (often a kicker) to avoid it in the future.

[refjeff]

I feel like I get a hurdling (or attempted hurdling kick) call at least twice a season. Normally with F/JV guys and a little CB. Varsity kids normally know better.

Missed an illegal numbering last year on the first kickoff of the game. Two coverage guys with the same number. Return team coach flipped out that we missed it when he knew it was gonna happen. But when asked why he didn't tell us ahead of time to look for it, he said something like "If I told you, you would have made them fix it first." 

Had an illegal participation on a freshman linebacker for making a hit after he lost his helmet. Coach had no problem with that rule in the general sense, but opined that a  backer losing his helmet was likely due to illegal actions by the offense, so fouls should offset.

My rarely seen one was a coach not getting anyone from his team back on the field after halftime in a timely manner. We gave them our standard time checks but they didn't make it out in time. They were ready by the end of the warmup period, but opposing coach (losing handily and in a bad mood about it) was pretty adamant that they be penalized. Unfortunately, I administered it wrong as a delay of game and not a UNS. However, we turned it into a learning experience, and the door knockers for my crew are now under instructions not to leave the locker room without somebody, anybody (often a kicker) to avoid it in the future.

Good stories.

There is no chance that we are going to look at numbers on the kickoff.

[ncwingman]

Missed an illegal numbering last year on the first kickoff of the game.

I missed an illegal numbering last year as well, and now I cannot remember all the details of the play so I'm sure I'm getting something wrong. It involved the numbering exception and I believe they either never actually got to a proper scrimmage kick formation, or shifted out of the formation before the snap -- and likely some other factor I'm forgetting.

The closest I'm coming up with was a "quick kick" type play. Offense comes out on 4th down, with the long snapper #88, but they line up in a spread offense shotgun formation. QB surveys the defense, then shifts back to 10 yards behind the LOS and punts the ball.

Second time they did it, the QB ran the pass play without shifting into the scrimmage kick formation -- but the long snapper was still in the game.

The other option was that they came out in punt formation initially, then shifted to a shotgun formation to run the pass play -- and now I can't find a case play that says that's illegal (w.r.t. numbering exceptions).

My rarely seen one was a coach not getting anyone from his team back on the field after halftime in a timely manner.

I wish I could say this one was rare for me, but there's one school/coach that really needs to buy a new watch or something. We also don't leave the field at halftime (usually), so we don't hunt down the teams to come back.

[BIG UMP]

20 years ago I was working U in a varsity game, actually a state championship.  Team was kicking a PAT and a mike LB stepped on his NGs back and jumped up to block kick.  He missed I didn't. Personal Foul.

[AlUpstateNY]

My rarely seen one was a coach not getting anyone from his team back on the field after halftime in a timely manner. We gave them our standard time checks but they didn't make it out in time. They were ready by the end of the warmup period, but opposing coach (losing handily and in a bad mood about it) was pretty adamant that they be penalized. Unfortunately, I administered it wrong as a delay of game and not a UNS. However, we turned it into a learning experience, and the door knockers for my crew are now under instructions not to leave the locker room without somebody, anybody (often a kicker) to avoid it in the future.

Karma can be "tough".  After a scoreless 1st half, HC for "R" waiting under the field clock, demanded a flag when "K" was late coming out to start the 2nd half.  Marked off 15 yds on the KO, R moved their receivers up somewhat, K's kick was deeper than expected, R muffed it, K recovered inside the R 10 ydln.  1st & 10 for K, inside the 10, who subsequently scored.  Second half was equally hard fought, Final score was "K" 14- "R" 7.

Be careful what you wish for.

[Ralph Damren]

I think the most uncommon one I've seen on the field was the actual fourth down fumble rule be applied. Runner fumbled at the three, fumbled forward into the EZ, recovered by another Team A player.  Not terribly uncommon, but you def don't see it often either.

In NFHS you would have to rule this an intentional act and penalize for an IFP. With the LOD the ball would turn over to B @ B's 8. If you didn't feel intent, the TD would stand.