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DEL.ICIO.USRefs’ non-call failed Rams, Broncos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Unless you do the job, you cannot truly know how tough it is officiating a football game. I haven’t done it, yet I appreciate the time, effort, knowledge and difficulty that comes with the job.
That cannot be overstated. Still, in the end, they have to get it right because when they don’t sometimes the end result is impacted.
It may have been that Brookwood would have come back to defeat Grayson on Friday night without the aid of a gross no-call. Maybe not.
That’s what makes it troubling. The officiating crew at the Brookwood 13-7 double-overtime victory all failed to blow a whistle on a critical play, a play that could have altered the outcome of the game.
You may already know the scenario. Up 7-0 late in the fourth quarter, Grayson set up to punt on fourth down as Brookwood frantically rushed its punt return unit onto the field. At the same time, the defense was rushing off the field.
When Grayson snapped the ball, several Broncos failed to make it to the sideline in time - an obvious violation of too many men on the field. Anyone watching saw the infraction.
No whistle was blown.
The Rams’ hurried punt went but a few yards, Brookwood marched the 46 yards and scored with 45 seconds left to force overtime.
That non-call helped Grayson suffer a devastating defeat, although it still had a chance in overtime to pull out the victory.
“I’m not the referee,” Brookwood coach Mark Crews said afterward. And he is right; it’s the officials’ responsibility.
But not so fast. That play actually was tough to call because the referees each have a specific assignment for each play. No ref’s assignment was to eyeball Brookwood’s players to see who made it off the field in time. Doing that would take their attention off of the action on the field.
Still, on the play, Grayson had a few players who were not set before the snap, which, of course, is a violation. That penalty was not called, either.
At its best it should have been off-setting penalties (someone should have noticed the extra Brookwood players on the field and the movement by Grayson), forcing Grayson to punt the ball again, perhaps pinning Brookwood farther down the field.
In any case, as tough a job as it is, the officials have to get it right, especially when it is so obvious.
This is not a slap at the referees; it’s straightforward truth.
GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin has said the officiating continues to get better and better, and that may be correct. It is one of those jobs that only get noticed when there is a blunder, which is not very fair. Many times the referees are all over the action, and still get grief because one team wanted a different call.
Referees essentially can’t win. But for the coaches and players, losing is tough enough as it is. To take an “L” from refs not making an obvious call is hard to stomach.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Comments
By DKM
October 30, 2006 04:45 PM | Link to this
I have seen this a number of times this season. I believe that in the interests of game flow, the referees are being instructed to ignore this call if these players are exiting the field and do not stop to participate. I have also seen this ignored in the college game. I believe the referees for the most part are trying to be fair but they get intimidated in certain settings(Walton, Parkview, etc..)
By Jenn
October 30, 2006 05:00 PM | Link to this
I think this “no call” controversy is taking away from the fact that the Brookwood/Grayson game was one of the BEST high school football games played this season! Seemingly “automatic” w’s (blow outs against weaker teams like Meadowcreek and Shiloh) are NOT what high school football is about. Going scoreless until the 4th quarter and double overtimes with 2 blocked field goals is what it’s about. If you want to take Grayson’s side go ahead, but like you said it could have been called either way. The truth is they didn’t have enough players on the field before the ball was snapped and we had too many. There were a lot of misscalls in that game (Brookwood punt returner slipped and fell and then got slammed into by Grayson which should have been a personal foul since you’re down in high school even if noone touches you). If we dwell on the shoulda coulda wouldas it’s kind of a slap in the face of the guys who played their hearts out in the mud.
By Tavonie Tatum
October 31, 2006 09:11 AM | Link to this
**The offciating in Gwinnett COUNTY has been horrible over the last couple of week. Central Gwinnett almost lost to a horrible Parkview because of bad offciating. Many believe the ref’s are being slack and lazy, and this is causing some problem.
By Parkveiw Fan
October 31, 2006 10:32 AM | Link to this
Tavonie maybe you should read what Cental’s coach had to say before you make a statement about Parkview. Also the one bad call should had been for Parkview and it when for Central ask Coach Warren to see the film.
By Parkview Fan
October 31, 2006 10:38 AM | Link to this
Can anyone please tell me why any time a columun is written about other schools Parkview is always brought into to it. If they are so awful why are they even thought of!!!!!!!!!!!!! These kids work just as hard as the rest of the kids and they are constantly being bashed.
By Jefferson
October 31, 2006 12:16 PM | Link to this
Who did this article about football in Dekalb. They fed you a line and told you a one sided story. Talk to the football coached and AD’s off the record! Where does all the $$ go after the gates at football games. Get them to show the detailed financial statements of the $$ that goes to which schools. Why are schools forced to play up a division when they could play where their true classification should be? $$$$ at the gate that Dekalb keeps for “field maintainence” when every year fields need to be cut, lights are out and scoreboards do not work. Is it even fair to compare schools in one county to another? Want to compare?Does PHS and BHS in Gwinnett have trouble, no they get the gate. Ask any coach the key to competition is the work in the weight room! Dekalb, if they let the shcool play in its true class could have had other schools in the playoffs, ranked headed to three for four games in the playoffs and extra $$$ at the gate. Get the $$ to the school athletics dept. and out of the hands of the main office. Lets see the financial statement of how much comes in and how it is divided back out to the programs!
Lets not be fooled!
By cghs FAN
November 1, 2006 01:05 PM | Link to this
Bookwood will get the beating of there life come friday WHY?, Because they’re not consistent. Brookwood better have thanked God for bad lazy nocall’n ref’s for that Grayson game. Grayson out played Brookwood the whole game and then the ref’s started slacking. That’s why Brookwood won’t go passed the 1st round in the playoffs. Brookwood and Parkview have lost there swagger. IT IS OVER!!!!!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT DEVION MOORE. Brookwood is not a contender because they DEPEND on bad refing to win games. Good luck VS. CENTRAL, “NOT”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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By ready for this
November 1, 2006 09:38 PM | Link to this
To the Parkview Fan that wrote the following on October 31, 2006 10:38 AM “Can anyone please tell me why any time a columun is written about other schools Parkview is always brought into to it. If they are so awful why are they even thought of!!!!!!!!!!!!! These kids work just as hard as the rest of the kids and they are constantly being bashed.”
Unfortunately these kids are paying for ‘past sins’ of the PV program. i.e. recruiting, cover-up situation at the prom, head coach whinning every time he loses, AJC overload in previous years; Parkview this and Parkview that, need I go on? The only way to stop it is to dump your coach (before he dumps you). He did attempt to leave after last season remember?
By CGHS FAN
November 2, 2006 09:13 AM | Link to this
**PARKVEIW SUCKS, and I can’t believe that Brookwood is ranked 1 in the region they really suck. Brookwood and PV need to get together to cheat and beat Central.
By Puddin
November 2, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this
Someone needs to sit down with ole man Swearngin at the GHSA and tell him to get better talent when it comes to Refs. I have seen the worst of the worst this year. Non-calls, bad calls, missed calls. I’ve seen it both ways not just against my team. We all know they are human, they dont get paid enough, they have to drive in Friday traffic from the other side of hell to make these games. However, something needs to be done before playoff time. I have no solution other than to go to the head of the snake, Ole Ralphy boy! If a “Non-call” happens in the post season, lookout! GO DAWGS!
By footballfan
November 2, 2006 12:55 PM | Link to this
I can’t speak about these people bashing schools and kids, it’s shameful that you people think that is necessary. However the article on officiating could be written about anywhere in this state. Anyone unfortunate enough to have suffered through games with Capital city officials knows that something must be done by the GHSA to improve it. Those guys are more concerned with what is happening on the sidelines behind them than they are with what happens in front of thier faces, late hits, blown calls, etc.
By thomas
November 3, 2006 05:58 AM | Link to this
I’ve been holding the cains on the sideline for the past 8 yrs every friday night. The refs are way too concerned about the sideline and they have rabbit ears as well. There are a few good crews but for the most part they could care less. Most of them are there for the money even though its not a huge amount. There are a lot of inexperience ones that think its the nfl thats playing. I’ve seen a few that wants to take the game in their own hands. The middle ga a*. is about the worse they’re old out of shape and slow. There is 1 ref in the middle ga. a*. that is 1 of the best in the state He was the head ref in last years 5A state championship game