ROCKINGHAM – Each year, officiating is a hot topic in the stands occupied by Raider Nation. More often than not, disagreements that Raider fans have with the calls being made on any given Friday night are the result of making comparisons to football being played on Saturdays and Sundays.
The NCAA and NFL have some rules that are a little different than what you might find in a high school game. Here we will examine three misconceptions that seem to haunt the Raider faithful year after year.
No. 1 – The Uncatchable Pass
It is a sound heard throughout the stands many times each year. After a defender and the intended receiver collide and that bright yellow flag flies across the field, hundreds of fans boo in unison as they protest the pass interference call.
Why do they heckle the refs about what appears to be a correct and obvious call? Because the ball sailed 15 feet over the receiver’s outstretched arms and landed twenty yards away from anyone on the field. It was uncatchable!
Nearly every single time that a pass interference call is made, there are fans of the penalized defender arguing the likelihood that a successful reception could have been made under any circumstances. The ball may have been thrown short, too far, too high, out of bounds, etc.
The reality is that in high school football, there is no such thing as an uncatchable pass. Well, that may not be entirely true, but whether or not the ball is catchable has no bearing whatsoever on an official’s decision to call pass interference.
According to the 2018 National Federation of State High School Associations Football Rules Book, “it is forward-pass interference if any player (on offense or defense) who is beyond the neutral zone interferes with an eligible opponent’s opportunity to move toward, catch, or bat the pass.” Whether it could be caught is irrelevant as long as the receiver was moving in the general direction of the pass.
Like most calls, the officials have to use good judgement in these situations. The rules book continues by explaining that “it is not forward-pass interference if contact by (the defender) is obviously away from the direction of the pass.”
So, while there may be no such thing as an uncatchable pass, the official can rule that the pass was not intended for that receiver in the first place making whether the ball was catchable or not irrelevant.
No. 2 – Encroachment
The snapper has his hand on the ball, and a hard count causes a defender to jump into the neutral zone. Despite the fact that the defensive player was able to recover and get back into position before the ball was snapped, the official still blew his whistle and tagged the jumpy defensive lineman with an encroachment penalty.
This infuriates many fans. Why did the official penalize the player if he clearly got back into position before the quarterback called for the ball?
According to NFHS rules, once the referee has given the ready-for-play signal, and the snapper has placed his hand on the ball, “encroachment occurs if any player breaks the plane of the neutral zone.” That goes for offensive players too. Once that happens, there is no going back.
So, the next time you’re yelling, “he got back in time” to the officials; you are simply broadcasting your lack of knowledge of the rules.
No. 3 – 15-Yards and an Automatic First Down
It’s third-and-25. In an effort to give the punter some breathing room, the running back takes a hand off and follows his blockers straight up the middle. He is hit at the line of scrimmage and in the process of pushing the ball forward, the ball carrier’s face mask is grabbed by a defender.
When the yellow flags start to fly, the fans of the offensive team begin to celebrate. The automatic first down that will be rewarded as a result of the penalty will give the offensive team new life.
The jubilant fans then turn bitter. Face mask penalties and many other personal foul penalties do not result in a first down in high school football. Because it is a 15-yard penalty, often the penalty results in a first down simply because the penalty yards move the ball past the line to gain.
However, in this scenario, it will be fourth-and-10 after the penalty is assessed. The fans that were hoping for a second chance are instead watching their punter come onto the field.
The Richmond Senior High School football program has one of the best fan bases in the state of North Carolina. However, frustration with officiating seems to be a disease that is spreading throughout Raider Nation. Understanding the rules can make for a better overall experience. Go out and have some fun on Friday nights!
