I would like to see the running clock begin any time one team is ahead by more 25 points or more. Why 25? Three TDs and 3 two-point conversions isn’t enough to come back and win.
I’d be curious to know the largest come-back wins in HS football. It seems to me that once a HS team gets behind by more than 2 scores, body language changes, heads go down, shoulders stoop, and the game is basically over. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but I bet they’re less than 5%.
Our officiating philosophy changes in a blowout. We overlook a lot of things on the part of the losing team - no fouls for DoG, or lining up wrong, or having only 10 players on offense and 6 on the line. We do call any fouls related to safety. On the other side, we have a greater risk of taunting and USC by the winning team. And for some reason, we have coaches with their starters in who are still throwing deep when they’re up by 40. In some of those games, I feel like “preventative officiating” means preventing a fight from breaking out.
I know officials who throw flags to keep a team from continuing to run it up. “Got a hold coach, sorry but I didn’t get a number.” I haven’t done that, but I understand why some officials would.
Sorry for the rant. This is why I posted the question about how competitive your games were. I’m in my 16th year, and I can deal with coaches yelling, fans not knowing the rules, lightning delays, and all the other issues that we deal with. But if you tell me before the season that I’m going to have 3 competitive games and 9 blowouts, I’d think long and hard before signing up for that. I’d rather find a game that I’m sure will be competitive and watch from the stands.