Football Officials:

The State Rules Clinic Attendance Cards will be completed by this afternoon.  When checking your profile, make sure we gave you proper credit.  If not, please call us now…if you wait until later in the season to contest this, we will not be able to check the Attendance Cards and validate this for you.

NEW TEACHING TOOL – On the www.nfhs.org web site, Football Officials Education program is complete.  Go to the web site, click on EDUCATION, and then click on OFFICIALS EDUCATION.  Football video clips are there for your review and interpretations.  Good stuff!

The interpretations from the NFHS that are on the Football area of the www.nfhs.org web site include one that came up in one of the recent State Rules Clinics.  It is as follows:

A1 is carrying the football when B1 grabs him by the inside back or side collar of the shoulder pads or jersey.  A1 then: (a) fumbles the football and is subsequently brought to the ground by B1.  RULING—The official must judge whether or not a personal foul has occurred, but if called, it cannot be a horse-collar tackle (judgment can always allow a personal foul penalty to be called).  COMMENT—B1’s contact on A1 meets part of the definitions of a horse-collar tackle in that he grabbed the inside back or side collar of the shoulder pads or jersey.  However, when the runner (A1) fumbled the football, he was no longer a runner (not in possession of a live ball) and thus does not meet the definition of a horse-collar foul.

This will be addressed in next year’s rules session and will in all likelihood be changed, but for now, this is the national interpretation we will go with.

I will be sending out testing instructions on Monday regarding the upcoming national exam August 25-29.  Thanks.