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Football Officiating => General Discussion => Topic started by: AFSST on September 15, 2012, 10:20:16 PM
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I had mine last night.
I was the HL. Team A has the ball on the B-25. The QB takes a 1 step drop and throws a high, arching pass toward the left pylon. A and B both go up for the ball about 1 yard from the sideline and 1 yard from the EZ. The ball is not caught by either player, but still remains right above their outstretched arms (by a slight bat) as they are both attempting to catch the pass. They barely cross into the EZ and B finally secures the ball. A then grabs the ball as well (simultaneous possession). So I blow the whistle as the ball is dead. I had to process the following in about 2 seconds:
1. Was either player out of bounds as they touched the ball?
2. Did B really intercept the ball instead of A catching the ball?
3. Did they really have simultaneous possession?
4. When EXACTLY did B gain possession? Did B gain possession in the EZ for a touchback, or did he gain possession in the field of play (momentum rule)?
The BJ and I had a quick conversation and he had the same ruling as I did, so I signaled a touchback. A's coach was obviously upset because he could clearly see the play from 50 yards away (opposite sideline). Hope I can get a copy of the game film to see if we made the correct ruling.
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I think simultaneous possession should be an extremely rare occurrence. In many instances what appears to be simultaneous is merely a strip of a player already down by rule. You certainly had a lot to process on this play. It is critical that you and the BJ communicate to insure you have the same ruling and that your signals will coincide.
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Agreed...they never went to the ground. They both had possession in the EZ, kind of like middle school basketball players have possession for a held ball.
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If they never went to the ground, might it have been a TD? I thought there was an AR (once) about A snatching ball from B after an interception in EZ?
add: I'm going off of NCAA rules. also, I'm not suggesting your call was incorrect!
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B had the ball in the EZ. If A had "snatched" the ball from B, I would have ruled a TD. However, when A reached in and grabbed the ball, they both had possession, so the ball is dead by rule.
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Sounds like the NFHS rules differ from the NCAA rules here. In NCAA there is no simultaneous possession rule, there are only rules for simultaneous catch/recovery of passes, fumbles and kicks. So in NCAA this would have been a TD. See A.R. 4-1-3-I-b.