Get Ready for Fall
From: Rich Kollen
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
I reviewed a play on video from last weekend that was ruled a catch-fumble. When I spoke with the official who made the call, he explained that it was a “bang-bang” play. Please remember our philosophy on these situations:
· Bang-bang plays should always be ruled incomplete.
· If there is any doubt, the receiver did not have possession. Rule it incomplete.
· We do not want cheap fumbles.
· When in question, the catch is not completed. (Rule 2-4-3-h)
Will the defensive coach complain? Probably. But this is a call we can sell with confidence. It keeps the game consistent and fair.
Last week, we had a play with an 80-yard touchdown pass. Our Back Judge did an excellent job staying in position, crossing the goal line with the player, and properly signaling a touchdown. However, after the score, the player did a short dance and spun the ball, which rolled out of the end zone. As other players came in to celebrate, the Back Judge turned his back on the players and chased the ball, ending up behind the uprights. At this level, whether on the sideline or in the back of the end zone, do not chase the ball. Someone will get you a ball when it’s needed. Your responsibility is to stay with the players and continue officiating. Luckily nothing happened here, but we need to be better dead-ball officials.
Athletic Directors—most of you do a great job paying officials on time. If you’re using RefPay, you can pay them right from your phone at the end of the game. We still have crews waiting for payment from Week 1 games. This should not happen.
Through Week 3, we’ve had five inadvertent whistles—far too many. Remember, a whistle does not kill the play, so there’s nothing wrong with a late whistle at this level. These mistakes come from lack of focus and the speed of the game. Let’s clean this up. Our goal is zero more IWs the rest of the season.
We must get 12 players on the field calls right. Always have at least three officials counting offense and defense. Last Saturday, we flagged 12 on the field when there were only 11—this cannot happen. If you have 12, make sure you get the attention of at least one other crewmate, so we have more than one flag.
We continue to have issues with both the game clock and play clock operators. In one game, the Referee announced over the PA that if mistakes continued, we would keep the time on the field. While we are not opposed to handling it that way, it should never be announced to the entire stadium. Address the clock operator directly, not publicly.
Line Judge and Head Linesman—communicate with your Umpire to be sure he checks your spot on penalty enforcement. Between the three of you, we need to get the ball in the correct spot every time.
Reminder: After a touchdown or field goal, the scoring team may only kick off from a tee, off the ground, or by drop kick. A punt is never permitted. Rule 2-16-6. If there is no tee, make sure we are questioning the kicker. I have never seen a drop kick used for a normal, not onside, kickoff and I can’t imagine they’d be doing it at our level.
Reminder for Coaches and Officials: Coaches do not have the right to come onto the field to protest a call. Coaches, if you have a concern, you can request to speak with the Referee, but he will do so in your “office,” which is two yards behind the sideline. Watch Division I football on TV—you’ll see this is strictly enforced. (Rule 9-2-1-b-1)
As long as I’ve been around this great game, coaches have yelled “holding” on nearly every play. Since coaches are only 50 yards apart and crowd noise isn’t an issue, if one coach yells “holding” and we call it, the coach across the field thinks we were influenced. Coaches—please help us out. Don’t yell “holding.” If it’s big enough, our officials will make the call.
On kick plays: If a kick returner signals for a fair catch and catches the ball while running full speed forward and his momentum carries him 3–5 yards, this is not a delay of game penalty. Our standard: only if he clearly becomes a runner do we rule it that way; not when he’s simply catching a normal kick on the run.
A blind-side block is very dangerous but remember: if a player uses his arms and hands to push, it is not a blind-side block. Evaluate the contact—if it’s with the shoulder, that’s a foul. If it’s a push, it’s not. The player must “attack” an opponent with “forcible” contact. Outstretched arms are evidence that the opponent is not attacking and the contact isn’t forcible. (Rule 9-1-28)
Pregame Coin Flip Standard: Our standard procedure is to gather the captains at the 5-minute mark and conduct the coin toss at 3 minutes. However, under no circumstances should our officials interrupt a team or coach during a pregame ceremony (such as a prayer) in order to meet this timeline. Respect for the teams always comes first. We don’t have TV, in general, so a minute late isn’t that big of a deal. However, coaches, please don’t take advantage of our grace on this issue. Let’s get the games moving.
Referees, I have no problem when a unique situation arises on the field—take the time to explain it to the coach. As the crew chief, the explanation should come from you rather than a less experienced crewmate. You’ve all been around long enough to understand when an explanation is necessary. When you do, walk the coach back toward his sideline and give him a clear, complete football explanation. If you know the rule (I hope you do), using the words “by rule” goes a long way.
Determining a late hit on a ball carrier running near the sideline is sometime a tough call. There are times when the ball carrier steps out of bounds but continues to run upfield (north-south). If the player's shoulders continue perpendicular to the sidelines, and he keeps running upfield, consider the possibility that the defense may not know the runner has stepped out of bounds. Please discuss this at this week's pre-game. If he is out of bounds, officials need to whistle the ball dead. If you are sure the defender knew the player was out of bounds, that is when the call should be made.
Some of our teams have duplicate numbers. Take note of that. If we have any unsportsmanlike conduct fouls called, make sure we have the right number AND the right player with that number. At a dead-ball, remind the coach that the player has one unsportsmanlike conduct foul, and ask if there are duplicates of that number. He may not know, but will hopefully have someone who does know. Try to get a name, in addition to the number. (Hopefully there are so few of these that it isn’t hard.)
“The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.” -Lewis Grizzard
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
2025 WEEKLY BULLETIN #4I reviewed a play on video from last weekend that was ruled a catch-fumble. When I spoke with the official who made the call, he explained that it was a “bang-bang” play. Please remember our philosophy on these situations:
· Bang-bang plays should always be ruled incomplete.
· If there is any doubt, the receiver did not have possession. Rule it incomplete.
· We do not want cheap fumbles.
· When in question, the catch is not completed. (Rule 2-4-3-h)
Will the defensive coach complain? Probably. But this is a call we can sell with confidence. It keeps the game consistent and fair.
Last week, we had a play with an 80-yard touchdown pass. Our Back Judge did an excellent job staying in position, crossing the goal line with the player, and properly signaling a touchdown. However, after the score, the player did a short dance and spun the ball, which rolled out of the end zone. As other players came in to celebrate, the Back Judge turned his back on the players and chased the ball, ending up behind the uprights. At this level, whether on the sideline or in the back of the end zone, do not chase the ball. Someone will get you a ball when it’s needed. Your responsibility is to stay with the players and continue officiating. Luckily nothing happened here, but we need to be better dead-ball officials.
Athletic Directors—most of you do a great job paying officials on time. If you’re using RefPay, you can pay them right from your phone at the end of the game. We still have crews waiting for payment from Week 1 games. This should not happen.
Through Week 3, we’ve had five inadvertent whistles—far too many. Remember, a whistle does not kill the play, so there’s nothing wrong with a late whistle at this level. These mistakes come from lack of focus and the speed of the game. Let’s clean this up. Our goal is zero more IWs the rest of the season.
We must get 12 players on the field calls right. Always have at least three officials counting offense and defense. Last Saturday, we flagged 12 on the field when there were only 11—this cannot happen. If you have 12, make sure you get the attention of at least one other crewmate, so we have more than one flag.
We continue to have issues with both the game clock and play clock operators. In one game, the Referee announced over the PA that if mistakes continued, we would keep the time on the field. While we are not opposed to handling it that way, it should never be announced to the entire stadium. Address the clock operator directly, not publicly.
Line Judge and Head Linesman—communicate with your Umpire to be sure he checks your spot on penalty enforcement. Between the three of you, we need to get the ball in the correct spot every time.
Reminder: After a touchdown or field goal, the scoring team may only kick off from a tee, off the ground, or by drop kick. A punt is never permitted. Rule 2-16-6. If there is no tee, make sure we are questioning the kicker. I have never seen a drop kick used for a normal, not onside, kickoff and I can’t imagine they’d be doing it at our level.
Reminder for Coaches and Officials: Coaches do not have the right to come onto the field to protest a call. Coaches, if you have a concern, you can request to speak with the Referee, but he will do so in your “office,” which is two yards behind the sideline. Watch Division I football on TV—you’ll see this is strictly enforced. (Rule 9-2-1-b-1)
As long as I’ve been around this great game, coaches have yelled “holding” on nearly every play. Since coaches are only 50 yards apart and crowd noise isn’t an issue, if one coach yells “holding” and we call it, the coach across the field thinks we were influenced. Coaches—please help us out. Don’t yell “holding.” If it’s big enough, our officials will make the call.
On kick plays: If a kick returner signals for a fair catch and catches the ball while running full speed forward and his momentum carries him 3–5 yards, this is not a delay of game penalty. Our standard: only if he clearly becomes a runner do we rule it that way; not when he’s simply catching a normal kick on the run.
A blind-side block is very dangerous but remember: if a player uses his arms and hands to push, it is not a blind-side block. Evaluate the contact—if it’s with the shoulder, that’s a foul. If it’s a push, it’s not. The player must “attack” an opponent with “forcible” contact. Outstretched arms are evidence that the opponent is not attacking and the contact isn’t forcible. (Rule 9-1-28)
Pregame Coin Flip Standard: Our standard procedure is to gather the captains at the 5-minute mark and conduct the coin toss at 3 minutes. However, under no circumstances should our officials interrupt a team or coach during a pregame ceremony (such as a prayer) in order to meet this timeline. Respect for the teams always comes first. We don’t have TV, in general, so a minute late isn’t that big of a deal. However, coaches, please don’t take advantage of our grace on this issue. Let’s get the games moving.
Referees, I have no problem when a unique situation arises on the field—take the time to explain it to the coach. As the crew chief, the explanation should come from you rather than a less experienced crewmate. You’ve all been around long enough to understand when an explanation is necessary. When you do, walk the coach back toward his sideline and give him a clear, complete football explanation. If you know the rule (I hope you do), using the words “by rule” goes a long way.
Determining a late hit on a ball carrier running near the sideline is sometime a tough call. There are times when the ball carrier steps out of bounds but continues to run upfield (north-south). If the player's shoulders continue perpendicular to the sidelines, and he keeps running upfield, consider the possibility that the defense may not know the runner has stepped out of bounds. Please discuss this at this week's pre-game. If he is out of bounds, officials need to whistle the ball dead. If you are sure the defender knew the player was out of bounds, that is when the call should be made.
Some of our teams have duplicate numbers. Take note of that. If we have any unsportsmanlike conduct fouls called, make sure we have the right number AND the right player with that number. At a dead-ball, remind the coach that the player has one unsportsmanlike conduct foul, and ask if there are duplicates of that number. He may not know, but will hopefully have someone who does know. Try to get a name, in addition to the number. (Hopefully there are so few of these that it isn’t hard.)
“The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.” -Lewis Grizzard
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations