If you think you got jobbed by Refs watch the Hope Blytheville film

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Alright this isn't a post against Hope it's players or coaches. Those boys played their butts off and coaches made the adjustments needed. This is a terrible Refing post. Hope didn't pick the Refs and they played the hand they were dealt. Congratulations to them

Now that I have said that the Refs in this game were the worst I have ever seen. It was borderline criminal what they did. I am absolutely not one to complain about bad calls this went beyond just bad calls. I believe a highlight film of bad calls is being made and sent to AAA. Not to take away from hope but to make sure these guys never Ref again. This shouldn't happen to any team.  Here is a link to just one of the horrible calls so everyone can see I'm not just a crying fan these Refs were terrible. In this play Hope throws a pass to the flats and the ball bounces in the air a Blytheville defender catches the ball chest high NOT close to the ground and begins to run it back for a TD. When the Ref see him break free he blows the whistle. OK inadvertent whistle Blytheville's ball at the spot (I would be mad but I can live with that) but that wasn't the call the call was incomplete pass and Hope keeps the ball. Y'all watch judge for yourselves.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3910267/highlights/311126115/v2 #hudl

Before anyone says that's just one play know this is the 2nd TD that was taken. The 1st was early in the game after a INT took the ball to the 1 yard line. A block in the back was called no block in the back can be seen on film. They move us back we throw a TD pass which after discussion was determined a catch the back judge drops a late flag and calls a ineligible down field again when you go to film it didn't happen. These calls happened all night continually killing Blytheville momentum.

Again I want to take nothing away from Hope those boys played and even with the litany of horrible calls Blytheville had their chances to win. This is a bad Ref post and I'm hoping AAA does something about this so this won't happen to another team.

[WPWells]

That's a real Bad Ref post. Thank you for citing specifics and not blaming the opponent. Do you have links to the other two calls you referred to?

[Chief-Chickasaw]

That's a real Bad Ref post. Thank you for citing specifics and not blaming the opponent. Do you have links to the other two calls you referred to?

Working on it.  That is the main play Blytheville fans were mad about so I posted it.

[mohawk1999]

From my experience when refs are bad they are bad both ways. Where's the highlights from from the bad calls on Hope? We're there not any? If not I guess you're insinuating the the referees wanted Hope to win?

[RamFan06]

Not saying you are incorrect, just playing devils advocate here, it looks to me like the side judge blows his whistle and signals incomplete fairly quickly. The Blytheville player is not past the official before he is at least signaling incomplete (I cant hear if there was a whistle). Honestly, I cant see the ball well enough to see if it hit the ground or not. The Hope player looks like he is reaching to the ground though.

[wynnefootballfan]

From my experience when refs are bad they are bad both ways. Where's the highlights from from the bad calls on Hope? We're there not any? If not I guess you're insinuating the the referees wanted Hope to win?

A work associate has a nephew that plays for Hope. He was at the game and told me about it yesterday. He said it was bad both ways and there were two critical calls that killed Blytheville. He did say that Hope made adjustments and was a different team in the second half but also felt that some young men were being robbed.

I too hope something can be done. Good luck to the Bobcats rest of the way.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

From my experience when refs are bad they are bad both ways. Where's the highlights from from the bad calls on Hope? We're there not any? If not I guess you're insinuating the the referees wanted Hope to win?

Hope really didn't have very many penalties.  In this game it seemed like the poor officiating only pointed one way with most of the flags being thrown by one official on the Hope sideline.  I'm not insinuating the referees wanted Hope to win.  But they definitely did a poor job officiating and shouldn't be allowed to Ref again.  I don't know why the officials called the game the way they did to get that answer you would have to go to them.  You are correct in the grand scheme of the game there are bad calls that go both ways the problem comes when those calls and no calls become egregious and one sided.  If it was bad calls both ways or just one horrible call that cost us the game I would have never brought it up but this went beyond that point. 

[airitout]

ok I watched the play,  I do not have any sound and do not hear a whistle and maybe my sight is bad but I really am having a hard time following the ball.  I see everyone on the field stop too.  Even the player that I think has the ball doesn't really start to run until he kind of turns the corner.  so, I'm not 100% sure when the whistle blows but if it blows before the Blytheville player has established control, I think the rule is on an early whistle is that the team with last control has a choice to replay the down or take the result play.   

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Again I don't want to take away from Hope.  They came out in the second half and we didn't have a answer.  The trips pass we couldn't cover and on D they played unbelievably well.  Probably the best we had faced all year for a half.  I have no problem with Hope at all.  They beat us and they played hard and they never gave up.  This is strictly on the officiating and how bad they were.  I really don't want people to think this is about me being mad the Chicks lost and I'm blaming it strictly on the officials because that is not what I want.  The Chicks turned the ball over to many times in the Red Zone and didn't make the adjustments. 

[StateChampDad]

I watched the video clip several times before I read the remainder of the posts.  I had the same reaction as several others; the video is inconclusive.  For me, the video would have to be indisputable. 

[mohawk1999]

When did that play take place? What was the score?

[MDXPHD]

I watched the video clip several times before I read the remainder of the posts.  I had the same reaction as several others; the video is inconclusive.  For me, the video would have to be indisputable.

It is indisputable that it was an interception. I don't see how you or anybody else can't see that. At the very least, Blytheville should have had possession of the ball. It's ridiculous they didn't get it and the ball went back to Hope.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

When did that play take place? What was the score?

I will have to go back and watch but I believe it was 14-0 and Hope ended up scoring on that drive to make it 14-7.  BUT I could be completely wrong on that.

[BigR]

It "appears" by watching the clip that he blows it dead before the INT.

If so, inadvertent whistle and the offense keeps ball. Replay down. Very unfortunate but it does happen.

But without sound it is impossible to tell.

[Busman]

Right or wrong the official ruled the pass incomplete. Therefore the inadvertent whistle rule does not apply. You can see him signal immediately after it leaves the receivers hand. I tried to blow up the screen and still couldn't see if the ball was incomplete. But he called it.  Hope's ball at the previous LOS. Next down. Clock starts on the snap. 
Also, if it was an inadvertent whistle, who had possession when the whistle blew?  If Blytheville player had not caught the ball, it would belong to Hope.  So the only scenario where Blytheville gets the ball is the inadvertent whistle was blown AFTER Blytheville player caught the ball.

[MDXPHD]

Right or wrong the official ruled the pass incomplete. Therefore the inadvertent whistle rule does not apply. You can see him signal immediately after it leaves the receivers hand. I tried to blow up the screen and still couldn't see if the ball was incomplete. But he called it.  Hope's ball at the previous LOS. Next down. Clock starts on the snap. 
Also, if it was an inadvertent whistle, who had possession when the whistle blew?  If Blytheville player had not caught the ball, it would belong to Hope.  So the only scenario where Blytheville gets the ball is the inadvertent whistle was blown AFTER Blytheville player caught the ball.

The problem isn't when the ref blew the whistle and called it incomplete. The problem is that he called it way too early. The ball wasn't close to hitting the ground and he calls it incomplete? That is just doing his job very poorly. Just because it leaves the wr's hands doesn't mean that it's going to hit the ground. It's embarrassing to have that quality at the playoff level.

[Missco]

Blown calls and bad officiating is just part of the game anymore. It isn't fair but will not  change. Their aren't enough officials to weed out the bad ones. It's like any occupation you have good ones and bad ones. It is bad when it happens because sports are for the student athletes. The AAA could care less and most officials are going to back the bad ones regardless.

[mohawk1999]

If I were Blytheville I would have been more upset if that play was later in the game and meant more toward the outcome.  I don't think we can say that play lost the game, so there's really no point of discussing it much more.

[Missco]

Very seldom does any one play cost a team a game. I don't think that is what these fans are saying.I think they are saying is the crew was just not very good.The game I attended Friday the crew was pretty good. I have only seen one crew all year that has no business calling. The team I was watching that night won handily.

[Chief_Osceola™]

There you go, Hope fans.  Now you're even.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Blown calls and bad officiating is just part of the game anymore. It isn't fair but will not  change. Their aren't enough officials to weed out the bad ones. It's like any occupation you have good ones and bad ones. It is bad when it happens because sports are for the student athletes. The AAA could care less and most officials are going to back the bad ones regardless.

I agree this play did not cost Blytheville the game. This along with several other bad calls was the difference between a 14-7 score at half instead of 35-7. Blytheville lost when they had their chances to win. This is about poor officiating who won and who lost doesn't matter now. How the game was officiated is a problem. We have to have better then that especially in the playoffs.

[Missco]

I agree and feel you. It's terrible that this happens but the AAA doesn't care one bit and most officials aren't going to admit to missing calls. Everyone is human and makes mistakes. I think in this case their were more bad calls than normal.

[Complete Biased PoV]

You should see this on the Hope film.... Shows it very clearly as an interception and with the audio Chicks had possession when whistle was blown.  Also, watch the linesman who signals incomplete, he knows he messed up but knew he could reverse his initial call, this is more evident in the Hope version of film as well.

[mohawk1999]

How did you see Hope's Film?

[Maynard G Krebs]

How did you see Hope's Film?

Complete Biased PoV = 007.  😀

[Grond]

Alright this isn't a post against Hope it's players or coaches. Those boys played their butts off and coaches made the adjustments needed. This is a terrible Refing post. Hope didn't pick the Refs and they played the hand they were dealt. Congratulations to them........

(deleted)

Again I want to take nothing away from Hope those boys played and even with the litany of horrible calls Blytheville had their chances to win. This is a bad Ref post and I'm hoping AAA does something about this so this won't happen to another team.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.........there was no Hudl, there was no "video review", even in the NFL. You had to deal with the circumstances you were handed. Rain, injuries, officials, etc. WE used the term "man up". It meant " do your job, no matter what."

It was a bad call. And possibly no one feels worse than the ref who made it. Or possibly that is simply how he saw it. Refs make mistakes. But without them, there is no high school football.

As far as the AAA: So, you are now MAD at the same AAA that gave Blytheville a break last year after the Blytheville/Paragould game in 2014? When a group of refs called out two Paragould numbers (#11 and #33) for suspension; and when Paragould HONESTLY informed the AAA that "we have no #33", these same Refs picked #22 THREE DAYS LATER, and then the AAA UPHELD IT?

I want Blytheville to do well, but CHAMPIONS don't write threads like this.

[Busman]

MDXPHD - I agree it was a blown call IF the pass was caught.  The official reacted too quickly.  But based on what I saw, they had no option to give the ball to Bville.

[airitout]

You should see this on the Hope film.... Shows it very clearly as an interception and with the audio Chicks had possession when whistle was blown.  Also, watch the linesman who signals incomplete, he knows he messed up but knew he could reverse his initial call, this is more evident in the Hope version of film as well.

I'd like to see Hopes film, too??

[PA Dad]

Alright this isn't a post against Hope it's players or coaches. Those boys played their butts off and coaches made the adjustments needed. This is a terrible Refing post. Hope didn't pick the Refs and they played the hand they were dealt. Congratulations to them........

(deleted)

Again I want to take nothing away from Hope those boys played and even with the litany of horrible calls Blytheville had their chances to win. This is a bad Ref post and I'm hoping AAA does something about this so this won't happen to another team.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.........there was no Hudl, there was no "video review", even in the NFL. You had to deal with the circumstances you were handed. Rain, injuries, officials, etc. WE used the term "man up". It meant " do your job, no matter what."

It was a bad call. And possibly no one feels worse than the ref who made it. Or possibly that is simply how he saw it. Refs make mistakes. But without them, there is no high school football.

As far as the AAA: So, you are now MAD at the same AAA that gave Blytheville a break last year after the Blytheville/Paragould game in 2014? When a group of refs called out two Paragould numbers (#11 and #33) for suspension; and when Paragould HONESTLY informed the AAA that "we have no #33", these same Refs picked #22 THREE DAYS LATER, and then the AAA UPHELD IT?

I want Blytheville to do well, but CHAMPIONS don't write threads like this.

Grond, I usually agree with you, but I don't this time.

If this thread was whining about a call deciding the game, I'd agree.  But Chief makes it clear that's not the case.  He is just making a plea for better officials.  I think that's a fair request.

[Wonderdog]

On the clip provided by Cheif, between the 3 and 4 second mark of the clip you can see the football almost "pop" up and the Blytheville player catches it. The only thing that I could not tell clearly from this clip is whether or not the ball bounced off of the turf or off of the Hope player. #27 for Blytheville blocks the view of the Hope WR just as it happens. It looks as if the Hope WR was reaching down. The video clip provided does not definitively show a "tipped" ball that was intercepted. I am not saying it was incomplete either. I would like to see the same clip from the Hope film to get a better angle on the play.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Alright this isn't a post against Hope it's players or coaches. Those boys played their butts off and coaches made the adjustments needed. This is a terrible Refing post. Hope didn't pick the Refs and they played the hand they were dealt. Congratulations to them........

(deleted)

Again I want to take nothing away from Hope those boys played and even with the litany of horrible calls Blytheville had their chances to win. This is a bad Ref post and I'm hoping AAA does something about this so this won't happen to another team.

Lol not mad at the AAA I just think if these are the Refs we have and a lot of complaints this year not just me we should do better. You obviously didn't read my post from the incident last year. We as a group shouldn't just take officiating on this level and chock it up to well that's just the way it is. Honestly I was prepared to write this win or lose.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.........there was no Hudl, there was no "video review", even in the NFL. You had to deal with the circumstances you were handed. Rain, injuries, officials, etc. WE used the term "man up". It meant " do your job, no matter what."

It was a bad call. And possibly no one feels worse than the ref who made it. Or possibly that is simply how he saw it. Refs make mistakes. But without them, there is no high school football.

As far as the AAA: So, you are now MAD at the same AAA that gave Blytheville a break last year after the Blytheville/Paragould game in 2014? When a group of refs called out two Paragould numbers (#11 and #33) for suspension; and when Paragould HONESTLY informed the AAA that "we have no #33", these same Refs picked #22 THREE DAYS LATER, and then the AAA UPHELD IT?

I want Blytheville to do well, but CHAMPIONS don't write threads like this.

I am completely owning our loss. I only post one call the entire game was very questionable.  I am just asking for some AAA oversight and that something like this doesn't happen again.

As far as mad at the AAA I'm not I would like them as the governing body to look at the whole game objectively and if something needs to be done to make them better at their job to do it.

You brought up last year Paragould/Blytheville game no one was more critical of the incident then me on the Blytheville side. I would be happy if the AAA does the same thing they did there review it and make a call. If I'm wrong I own it. I own our loss we had our opportunity to win and didn't come through.

[BigR]

Officials make mistakes...
Players make mistakes...
Coaches make mistakes...

Should we fire them all when they make one? If we pull everyone that makes a mistake, football would not exist in 2 years, at any level.

All sports are riddled with mistakes, that's part of what makes them exciting.

I choose to take the mistakes for learning and teaching opportunities for my kids. A chance to learn how to deal with adversity.

Just my two cents.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Officials make mistakes...
Players make mistakes...
Coaches make mistakes...

Should we fire them all when they make one? If we pull everyone that makes a mistake, football would not exist in 2 years, at any level.

All sports are riddled with mistakes, that's part of what makes them exciting.

I choose to take the mistakes for learning and teaching opportunities for my kids. A chance to learn how to deal with adversity.

Just my two cents.

No not for one mistake but we are talking multiple mistakes.  Players get benched for poor play and lose their jobs.  Coaches lose their jobs all the time for doing a poor job and making mistakes.  When it comes to poor officiating eh its part of the game deal with it.  I agree learning from your mistakes but part of that learning processes comes with the understanding doing a poor job has consequences.  I'm saying officiating needs to get better.  There needs to be oversight of poor officials.  This is a problem that can be corrected.  This is a issue everyone can support.  Everyone of us has been to a game and left thinking man that crew was terrible.  Well the next week that crew goes to another game and those fans leave and think man that crew was terrible.  We as fans, players, and coaches are left with a bad taste in our mouth.  If you bring up poor officiating you are labeled a cry baby because you lost.  If you bring it up when you win you look like you are rubbing it in the losers face. Can we not all agree that Refs should be evaluated and shown ways to improve and be better and if they continue to do a poor job they probably don't need to Ref games anymore?

[Lionheart88]

I watched the video clip several times before I read the remainder of the posts.  I had the same reaction as several others; the video is inconclusive.  For me, the video would have to be indisputable.

It is indisputable that it was an interception. I don't see how you or anybody else can't see that. At the very least, Blytheville should have had possession of the ball. It's ridiculous they didn't get it and the ball went back to Hope.

I can't see the ball the whole way.  I've watched it 3-4 times and keep losing track of the ball.  I really couldn't say conclusively whether it hit the turf or not, so I'm on the same page as SCD.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Alright I wanted to thank everyone for not jumping on me to hard for complaining about the officiating.  I really hate being that guy. I have now been able to get it out of my system.  I still believe there needs to be a oversight committee and officials should be randomly graded at least every two years.  There is nothing better then watching a well officiated and there is nothing worse then watching a poorly officiated game.  It's about making high school sports better. 

[Rampage72501]

Alright I wanted to thank everyone for not jumping on me to hard for complaining about the officiating.  I really hate being that guy. I have now been able to get it out of my system.  I still believe there needs to be a oversight committee and officials should be randomly graded at least every two years.  There is nothing better then watching a well officiated and there is nothing worse then watching a poorly officiated game.  It's about making high school sports better. 

Let me go on record and say I agree the state of officiating is not as good as it should be.  That being said:

How do you propose to make an oversight committee and grading happen?  What happens if an official or a officiating team grades out low?   It's my understanding, there is a major shortage of officials, so where do we get new officials if current officials are graded out?  Who's going to volunteer for the oversight committee?  What will be expected of the committee?  Is the committee going to force low ranked officials to go through extra training, and who will cover the cost of making that happen?

The NFL, who has a boatload of money, and pays their officials, is struggling with getting their officiating to an acceptable level.  Don't get me started on college officiating.  If the NFL and college conferences are struggling, how can you expect HS officials in any state, let alone ours, to get better, short of personal pride in being a great official?  I'd love to hear REALISTIC ideas...

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Alright I wanted to thank everyone for not jumping on me to hard for complaining about the officiating.  I really hate being that guy. I have now been able to get it out of my system.  I still believe there needs to be a oversight committee and officials should be randomly graded at least every two years.  There is nothing better then watching a well officiated and there is nothing worse then watching a poorly officiated game.  It's about making high school sports better. 

Let me go on record and say I agree the state of officiating is not as good as it should be.  That being said:

How do you propose to make an oversight committee and grading happen?  What happens if an official or a officiating team grades out low?   It's my understanding, there is a major shortage of officials, so where do we get new officials if current officials are graded out?  Who's going to volunteer for the oversight committee?  What will be expected of the committee?  Is the committee going to force low ranked officials to go through extra training, and who will cover the cost of making that happen?

The NFL, who has a boatload of money, and pays their officials, is struggling with getting their officiating to an acceptable level.  Don't get me started on college officiating.  If the NFL and college conferences are struggling, how can you expect HS officials in any state, let alone ours, to get better, short of personal pride in being a great official?  I'd love to hear REALISTIC ideas...

Heck I'm not sure on the answers but the status qua isn't good.  If you cant do the job effectively you shouldn't do it.  If you do a poor job you should be retrained if you can't be retrained you don't need that job anymore.  But to say we are short handed so except what you get isn't a good answer to the problem either.  I'm just throwing out ideas anything to make it better I'm for and I will support.

[BigR]

IMHO...

MONEY.

The only thing that can help officiating. And it would take a truck load of it.

The AAA is actually run by ALL the schools.

It would take an enormous sized staff to better train and oversee officiating in ALL sports.
Right now it is done by a small staff and a bunch of volunteers.

I don't see how the schools would be willing to fork over that kind of money and frankly it would be a waste of the schools resources to place that much into high school sports.

[SWAT524]

Okay I watched this video frame by frame several times . In one frame you see the Hope  player reaching his hands down for the ball on the ground. It appears that it was deflected up by the players foot and ground. The problem is when you watch the video live is that the refresh rate of the video frame by frame doesn't catch it. Could it have been deflected by the players foot possibly. Think about it .... all the players reacted the same about it striking the ground. Good Luck next year. PS if the game was close on the score I could understand one INT making a diffrence ....... but it was a ten point deficit. Good luck next year . Your team has a lot of talent! You will be back!

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Okay I watched this video frame by frame several times . In one frame you see the Hope  player reaching his hands down for the ball on the ground. It appears that it was deflected up by the players foot and ground. The problem is when you watch the video live is that the refresh rate of the video frame by frame doesn't catch it. Could it have been deflected by the players foot possibly. Think about it .... all the players reacted the same about it striking the ground. Good Luck next year. PS if the game was close on the score I could understand one INT making a diffrence ....... but it was a ten point deficit. Good luck next year . Your team has a lot of talent! You will be back!

Thanks, Yeah we lose some leadership and good parents out of this group which is huge in Blytheville.  We will need to replace a LB, Safeties and WRs and a OT.  Most of the O-line and D-line will be back and we have good depth at those spots. Both RB will be back.  I am already looking forward to next year.  This group of senors may be the best group of men to come out of Blytheville take football away and they are all just great people. A lot of talent on the field but off the field these boys really shine.

[Lions84]

Our local photographer took several pictures at our last regular season game that proves the Zebra crew at our game was either blind or up to no good.    He had made copies and sent them in to the Officials association.  If nothing done then we will go to the Press with them.  Good Luck.

[Rampage72501]

BigR gets it.

The shortage in officials, in all sports, especially at the high school level is going to be a MAJOR problem in the very near future.  It's going to change the way games are officiated.  There are simply not enough young officials to replace the current crop that are retiring.

Most who get into officiating at the HS level do so for the love of the game.  Lord knows it's not for the money.  Most, while probably having some ambition and thinking they might like to move up into the college ranks and maybe even one day the pros, know they will never have that chance.

So, what makes anyone want to begin doing something that's going to take up a lot of their time, make them little money (if any, after expenses are paid), and subject them to be berated by most fans who couldn't tell you the difference between a free-kick and a scrimmage kick?  Again, it's a love for the game and a desire to remain close to it.  With that, I believe most officials want to do a good job.  Unfortunately, wanting to do a good job and being in a position to do a good job are not synonymous.

You also have to remember, there are literally hundreds of plays in a typical football game.  What happens when an official is correct 98 time, but misses 2 calls?  Those are pretty good stats if you ask me.  Unfortunately, no one remembers the 98 times that official or crew got it right...

I agree that we shouldn't accept mediocrity, but I also don't have an answer as to how to make it better, consistently, at all levels.  Class 2A schools deserve the same level of acceptable officiating as does Class 5A.  Short of pouring tons of money into it, which isn't there to begin with, I don't know what else can be done.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

BigR gets it.

The shortage in officials, in all sports, especially at the high school level is going to be a MAJOR problem in the very near future.  It's going to change the way games are officiated.  There are simply not enough young officials to replace the current crop that are retiring.

Most who get into officiating at the HS level do so for the love of the game.  Lord knows it's not for the money.  Most, while probably having some ambition and thinking they might like to move up into the college ranks and maybe even one day the pros, know they will never have that chance.

So, what makes anyone want to begin doing something that's going to take up a lot of their time, make them little money (if any, after expenses are paid), and subject them to be berated by most fans who couldn't tell you the difference between a free-kick and a scrimmage kick?  Again, it's a love for the game and a desire to remain close to it.  With that, I believe most officials want to do a good job.  Unfortunately, wanting to do a good job and being in a position to do a good job are not synonymous.

You also have to remember, there are literally hundreds of plays in a typical football game.  What happens when an official is correct 98 time, but misses 2 calls?  Those are pretty good stats if you ask me.  Unfortunately, no one remembers the 98 times that official or crew got it right...

I agree that we shouldn't accept mediocrity, but I also don't have an answer as to how to make it better, consistently, at all levels.  Class 2A schools deserve the same level of acceptable officiating as does Class 5A.  Short of pouring tons of money into it, which isn't there to begin with, I don't know what else can be done.

Question because I honestly don't know the answer.  AAA gets the money from benefit games and all playoff games do schools pay a yearly fee to be a member?  With shortage such a real problem why wouldn't the AAA and the AOA be putting on clinics all over the state to certify more officials working toward getting more people into doing it?
I'm beginning to hate that I even started this thread.  I really don't want to take away from the awesome men who have called our games most of the year.  Some calls go your way and some don't.  The problem comes when its multiple bad calls.  Thank about it we have all been through it.  Don't think about the Blytheville-Hope game think about that time you left the field and you knew it wasn't right, you knew that those in charge could have done better. Now apply that feeling to the problem at hand. There has to be a better way to weed out the minority of bad officials in the state. We are not talking about a complete overhaul we are talking about less the 15%.  Heck if there is one bad official in a crew it can completely change a game.  It doesn't make the other 3 or 4 bad but we should be able to retrain or weed that one guy out.   

[mijally]

Gee what a shock. Hope getting the hook up at home in a state tournament game. Just like last years state soccer debacle. This is becoming a habit. Deja Vu all over again. Your reputation is growing.

[P.F.G.]

Our local photographer took several pictures at our last regular season game that proves the Zebra crew at our game was either blind or up to no good.    He had made copies and sent them in to the Officials association.  If nothing done then we will go to the Press with them.  Good Luck.

Local officials association has nothing to do with playoff games. Both conferences have an assignor for conference games. The AOA has people in each area of the state that assign out the playoffs games. Teams find out where they are going the Sunday before in the playoffs.

[Lionheart88]

Gee what a shock. Hope getting the hook up at home in a state tournament game. Just like last years state soccer debacle. This is becoming a habit. Deja Vu all over again. Your reputation is growing.

Schools don't assign refs for the playoffs.  Are you suggesting that the AAA itself is giving Hope preferential treatment?

[Complete Biased PoV]

Okay I watched this video frame by frame several times . In one frame you see the Hope  player reaching his hands down for the ball on the ground. It appears that it was deflected up by the players foot and ground. The problem is when you watch the video live is that the refresh rate of the video frame by frame doesn't catch it. Could it have been deflected by the players foot possibly. Think about it .... all the players reacted the same about it striking the ground. Good Luck next year. PS if the game was close on the score I could understand one INT making a diffrence ....... but it was a ten point deficit. Good luck next year . Your team has a lot of talent! You will be back!

Ball never went below the waist.  The official just simply had a lapse in judgement, he knew he was wrong but it was too late.  If you watch the Umpire, he is reaching for his beanbag when he sees the linesman signaling incomplete and let go of his beanbag.  Chief, was there at least a conference on this play?

[Chief-Chickasaw]

Okay I watched this video frame by frame several times . In one frame you see the Hope  player reaching his hands down for the ball on the ground. It appears that it was deflected up by the players foot and ground. The problem is when you watch the video live is that the refresh rate of the video frame by frame doesn't catch it. Could it have been deflected by the players foot possibly. Think about it .... all the players reacted the same about it striking the ground. Good Luck next year. PS if the game was close on the score I could understand one INT making a diffrence ....... but it was a ten point deficit. Good luck next year . Your team has a lot of talent! You will be back!

Ball never went below the waist.  The official just simply had a lapse in judgement, he knew he was wrong but it was too late.  If you watch the Umpire, he is reaching for his beanbag when he sees the linesman signaling incomplete and let go of his beanbag.  Chief, was there at least a conference on this play?

Nope, Coach Fisher about had a stroke but they couldn't give him a reason this happened.  I have heard that the head judge spoke with him at the half and apologized and said that line judge is getting old and can't move or see very well anymore. That line judge threw most of the flags on Blytheville and was even able to call a player down from 30 yards away on a kick off. The back judge didn't call him down that same line judge. 
Heck I'm kinda done talking about it.  It's clear this is just gonna happen sucks for the kids to work hard and have their season end this way.  There is nothing that can be said that will change it.  With the state of officiating nothing can be done to make sure this doesn't happen again. I just really hope this doesn't happen to any of the teams playing this year but there is no way to say it wont.  When it happens to your team shrug and say well there is always next year.  The bad part I'm not saying without the poor officiating we would've won the game but I would like to have found out. I would way rather talk about Blytheville's quick start and our inside run game.  I would rather talk about how well #69 and#71 blocked #33 and #78 then how well #33 and #78 played in the second half they both are really really good. I would rather talk about our RB running 199 and 3 TDs that kids a beast and will be back next year.  I would rather talk about Hope's pressure rattling our Jr. QB causing him to throw off his back foot.  I would rather commend Hope's coaching staff for the halftime adjustments they made.  Great Coaching staff.  But all of that was overshadowed by officials and completely horrible calls.  You notice Hope fans are everywhere on this board but not on this thread.  Hope is really good I was super excited to see the game and it was trumped by officials. When that happens it just sucks.

[Rocket23]

From what I could tell it was just a royal screw-up by the official.  Maybe he had the whistle in his mouth rather than in his hand and anticipated incomplete pass after it bounced off receiver's hands, who knows.  But I can almost guarantee you no one feels worse than that official.

An inadvertent whistle is every official's nightmare.  I had one at back judge once when I did football, and even though it didn't cost anyone the game, I couldn't go to sleep that night.

Couldn't tell from the video, but if Blytheville had possession of ball when whistle sounded, it should have been their ball at the spot.  If it was loose, then down should be replayed.

But it is about money and manpower as several posts up above allude to.  And it will get worse because kids these days don't have the patience and respect to take the buttchewing officials take.  And it is a lot of time and investment for not a whole lot of money.  You do it because you love the game, but the money definitely helps.

[Chief-Chickasaw]

From what I could tell it was just a royal screw-up by the official.  Maybe he had the whistle in his mouth rather than in his hand and anticipated incomplete pass after it bounced off receiver's hands, who knows.  But I can almost guarantee you no one feels worse than that official.

An inadvertent whistle is every official's nightmare.  I had one at back judge once when I did football, and even though it didn't cost anyone the game, I couldn't go to sleep that night.

Couldn't tell from the video, but if Blytheville had possession of ball when whistle sounded, it should have been their ball at the spot.  If it was loose, then down should be replayed.

But it is about money and manpower as several posts up above allude to.  And it will get worse because kids these days don't have the patience and respect to take the buttchewing officials take.  And it is a lot of time and investment for not a whole lot of money.  You do it because you love the game, but the money definitely helps.

I truly commend you for being a Ref.  I do have a question have you ever been part of a crew where one guy just wasn't very good?  What do you do when that happens?  I know almost every Ref I've been around has been great just wondering what happens when one guy isn't very good.  Being a Ref isn't for everyone you might get caught up watching the game and not the play so I'm just wondering.