2014 Preseason Study Guide
Number 3
Officials Mechanics
No. / Rule / Answer / Notes / Situation /1. / The referee is authorized to correct an obvious error in timing if discovered prior to the second live ball following the error unless the period has officially ended.
2. / The referee, on a free kick deep down the middle of the field, should pick up the runner and follow him until releasing to the covering official.
3. / In a 5-man Kickoff, The referee is on R’s goal line on the linesman’s side of the field.
4. / All officials should leave the field together between halves.
5. / Black shorts may be worn for non-varsity contests (except for the JV game immediately preceding a varsity game) if worn by the entire crew at the referee’s discretion.
6. / In controlling team-personnel altercations, the linesman and the line judge should alert the coach on their side to keep all team personnel off of the playing area.
7. / If unable to stop an altercation, step back and record the uniform numbers of all players involved and other team personnel.
8. / The umpire stands over the ball until the referee marks the ball ready for play or until the Referee releases the U in hurry-up situations.
9. / In administering penalties, the umpire will make note of the enforcement spot for penalty.
10. / It is acceptable for all officials to give the touchdown signal, if one didn’t actually see the touchdown; he/she can mirror the signal.
11. / Strength of formation is determined by the number of linemen on each side of the center.
12. / A balanced formation is when there are the same number of eligible receivers outside the offensive tackles on each side of the formation.
13. / If motion occurs, the strength of the formation will be determined by player positions before the snap. Keys don’t change with motion.
14. / When measuring for a first down, the line judge will place his/her foot just behind the yard-line where the clip is to be placed to align the linesman so that the chains are parallel to the sidelines.
15. / When the field clock is not used, the back judge will notify the referee approximately two minutes before the second and fourth periods of the time remaining.
16. / In 4-man, Field goal or try inside of 15 yards, the linesman is responsible to count R and watch for roughing the kicker or holder.
17. / “When in Question” of an incomplete pass or fumble, it should be ruled a fumble.
18. / “When in Question” of a forward or backward pass, it should be ruled forward.
19. / “When in Question” as to whether the pass was caught by the receiver or not, it should be ruled as a catch.
20. / Line Judge is responsible for securing game balls and talking to designated ball boys.
21. / All officials should arrive at the game site at least one hour prior to kickoff and be prepared to discuss mechanics and have other game situation discussions
22. / Ensuring the line to gain marker has tape marking the 5 yard mark of the chains serves no functional purpose.
23. / The covering official should be sure to see the ball, mark forward progress, watch for player safety and sound the whistle quickly and loudly at the end of the play
24. / The umpire and head Linesman are responsible for clearing the sidelines, breaking up conferences and will be positioned at R’s free Kick Line.
25. / The Line judge will be positioned on R’s free kick line outside the sideline opposite sideline from the Head Linesman.
26. / After a kickoff, if the play is not in your area, you should watch the ball carrier and look to see if he makes any spectacular moves.
27. / Umpire is responsible for ensuring the offense has at least 5 players numbered 50-79 on the line of scrimmage
28. / Head Lines and Line Judge need to communicate number and position of wide players on their side. If there are not 7 on the line of scrimmage, they should tap their flag to communicate agreement of illegal formation, and if not corrected, both should throw the flag at the time of the snap.
29. / In order to spot the ball quickly, wing official should round their cuts to get to the spot to mark the ball
30. / Back Judge should be positioned 15-20 yards downfield and always behind the deepest defender.
31. / The referee should always remain wider and deeper than the Passer
32. / The umpire should watch the quarterback since he is looking that way after the pass is thrown, freeing up the referee to watch the pass go down field.
33. / Referee and Head Lines talk to both head coaches, and the referee asks each coach to verbally verify that all players are legally equipped
34. / On a quick pass to the side, the Head Lines and Line Judge need to rule on whether the pass is forward or backward. They do this by “punching” forward or backward so all officials know the direction of the pass.
35. / Umpire should position himself 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and where he can watch for roughing the snapper.
36. / Back Judge is positioned 10-12 yards wider and 2-3 yards deeper than the receiver on the linesman’s side of the field
37. / After the kick, if K is the first to touch the moving ball, the covering official should mark the touching by throwing his bean bag.
38. / The reason bean bags should be two different colors is so the official can distinguish between a first touching, end of the kick and a fumble, two of which could occur on the same play
39. / The Back Judge and the wing official looking at the front of the kicker will position themselves under the uprights
40. / Back judge will rule on cross bar and upright and the wing official will rule on the other upright.
41. / In order to avoid confusion, the Back Judge will move forward, alone, and signal whether the kick was good or no good.
42. / Umpire will mark off the distance of the penalty after the referee gets the decision of the offended team and after he communicates to Umpire
43. / When there is an obvious first down, the Line Judge should hold 1 finger up in front of his chest to which is the signal to the Referee that it is a first down so the Referee knows to stop the clock.
44. / The down marker should be moved to the front line to gain indicator spot and kept at the same down as the play that just ended
45. / Umpire will take the front yard marker and stretch it tight once the Head Linesman says the chains are ready
46. / Timeouts are 1 minute long and should be timed by the back judge
47. / Wing officials are responsible for being ahead of the runner on a goal line play. If the ball started inside the 5 yard line, the wing officials should release to the goal line and work back to the ball
48. / The covering official should mark the spot the ball is out of bounds and position themselves to continue watching the activity out of the field of play, even if this means their back will be to the field of play.
49. / Team A is flagged for illegal motion. B1 grabs and twists A2’s facemask while making the tackle. Double Foul-offset the penalties and replay the down?
50. / Team K is flagged for illegal formation. R1 catches the punt at his own 20 yd. line. While the kick is in flight, R2 clips K3 at Team R’s 30 yd. line.
Can Team R keep the ball? How? If yes, what yd. line will R next snap the ball from?
51. / A’s ball, 3rd & goal from B’s 8 yd. line. A1 catches a pass and is hit at B’s two yd. line. He fumbles and the ball strikes the pylon. What is the result of the play?
a. Touchdown for A
b. Touchback- Team B’s ball 1st & 10 at its own 20
c. A’s ball at the 1 inch line- 4th down & goal
d. A’s ball at spot of fumble- 2yd.line.
e. All of the above
f. None of the above
52. / On a free kick, after the ball has gone downfield, the BJ moves toward the center of the field no more than 10-15 yards while maintaining inside-out coverage
53. / Team A is attempting a two-point try at B’s 3 yd. line. A3’s legal forward pass is intercepted by B4 who returns the ball the length of the field and across A’s goal line. During the return, B5 is flagged for holding. Enforce ½ the distance to the goal and A can re-try a 1 or 2 point conversion try
54. / The game official escorting the team with the second-half choice obtains from that team’s captain its second half choice and communicates same to the referee.
55. / The BJ and LJ bring an approved game ball from each team to the coin toss
56. / If a whistle is sounded inadvertently, immediately hold your spot to mark the end of the run.
57. / A second sideline warning results in the assessment of a 10 yard penalty.
58. / On a 5 man kickoff, the HL counts R players and is positioned on R’s 30 yard line on the line-to-gain side of the field.
59. / On a 4 man kickoff, the HL counts R players and is positioned on K’s free kick line.
60. / When a forward pass is read, U should step forward towards the neutral zone to rule whether an ineligible is illegally downfield.
61. / When there is a “trips” formation, the BJ is responsible for the two outside receivers.
62. / On a running play, and after the ball is spotted, the HL and LJ should count B players and signal to the BJ that you have counted the defense.
63. / If play continues following an illegal forward pass, drop penalty marker at spot of pass to indicate where the run ended and sound whistle to kill the play.
64. / On a forward pass, the HL and LJ should stay on the LOS until the ball carrier crosses the LOS or until the receivers on your side of the field have gone at least 10-12 yards downfield.
65. / On a scrimmage kick, the BJ should count R players and indicate to wing officials that the receiving team has been counted.
66. / On a field goal try, the U should count K players and indicate to R while also checking for any numbering exceptions.
67. / On a free kick following a safety, each official should assume the same relative position and duties as on a kickoff.
68. / On penalty enforcement, the HL should hold the enforcement spot.
69. / In-between periods, the R, U and HL should each record the down, distance and yard line nearest the foremost point of the ball.
70. / The BJ is responsible for ensuring that three minutes are placed on the clock for the mandatory warm-up period prior to the start of the second half and after intermission time has elapsed.