THE CLEVELAND FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION

THE GOALPOST THE OFFICIAL’S NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 3 MARCH, 2015 JIM LANESE, EDITOR

COFA  Officers,  2015  President:  Mike  Dame  

Vice-­‐President:  Paul  Byrne  Secretary:  Tony  Bondra  Executive  Chm:  Jim  Rice    Executive:  Fran  Gallagher  Executive:  Jim  Demetriu  Jr  Executive:  Mike  Joseph  Executive:  Rocky  Neale  

Rules  Interpreter:  Jim  Lanese  Mechanics:  Jim  Demetriu  Jr  

Contact any officer with your questions, comments, or ideas.

Mentorship Program, 2015

Paul Manfredi and John Mastryey will coordinate the mentorship program this season. Please contact Paul

personally at paulm1313@gmail.com or John at jackamx84@aol.com. Anyone that is interested in

helping mentor a newer official or to connect with a mentor should respond.

Plan to GOLF The 2015 CLEFOA Golf Outing will be held at Cossett Creek

(formerly Brunswick Hills Golf Course) 4900 Center Rd in Brunswick on Friday, July 31st @ 10:00am. Cost is $75 and, as always, includes golf, cart, lunch, steak dinner and drinks. For

more information or $25.00 hole sponsorship please contact Jim Demetriu at 440-567-8281 or jimd13@roadrunner.com

Members Corner The  Cleveland  Touchdown  Club's  Bobby  Brown  Officials  Award  recipient  for  2015  is  Joe  Dubyak.  Congratulations  to  Joe  who  has  been  active  as  a  football  official  for  50  years  at  the  high  school  and  the  collegiate  level.  He  has  worked  OHSAA  tournament  and  Championship  games  during  his  career.  He  retired  from  the  field  in  2014.      

The CFOA received confirmation that longtime Cleveland area football and basketball official Eugene (Gene)

Wodzisz has been selected for induction into the OHSAA Hall of Fame in June 2015. Please join me in congratulating

Gene. This recognition comes on the heels of his Golden Deeds Award from the Greater Cleveland Football Coaches

Association in 2014.  

“In case you missed it” Football Rules Changes – 2015

By NFHS on February 19, 2015

SPEARING DEFINITION REVISED (2-20-1c): Continuing the focus of risk minimization, the definition for the illegal helmet contact act of spearing was revised. Spearing is an act by any player who initiates contact against an opponent at the shoulders or below with the crown (top portion) of his/her helmet.

CORRECTING A DOWN NUMBER ADDED (5-1-1b NEW): The referee is granted authorization to correct the number of the next down before a new series of downs is awarded.

FREE-KICK FORMATIONS REVISED (6-1-3; 6-1-4 NEW; 6-1 PENALTY): In a revision of the 2014 rule change regarding free-kick formations, the timing of the foul for not having at least four players on each side of the kicker now occurs when the ball is kicked.

EXCESSIVE CONTACT ADDED TO UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS (9-4-3g): With an emphasis on risk minimization, the unnecessary roughness provisions were expanded. No player or nonplayer shall make any other contact with an opponent, including a defenseless player, which is deemed unnecessary or excessive and which incites roughness.

ROUGHING THE PASSER PENALTY CLARIFIED (9-4 PENALTY): An automatic first down is not awarded for a 5-yard incidental face mask penalty against the passer.

DEAD-BALL PENALTY ENFORCEMENT MODIFIED (10-2-5): The distance penalty for unsportsmanlike, nonplayer or dead-ball personal fouls committed by teams can offset. Equal numbers of 15-yard penalties by both teams will cancel and remaining penalties may be enforced.

To me, the last change is going to be the one that drums up the most confusion… For so long, those penalties were enforced in the order they occur… Like always, we will have to work to adapt to the game as it changes!

Thanks and hope to see you all soon! Mike Dame CFOA President

2014  OHSAA  Football  Finals  Cleveland  was  well  represented  in  this  year’s  OHSAA  Football  Finals  and  throughout  the  

tournament.  Send  your  photos  to  Jim  for  future  editions  of  the  Goalpost.  

 Mike Dame keeps a close eye on the action during the

Division 2 game. Number 33 was keeping a close eye on Mike in case he made any quick moves!

Ray Anthony is on the move during the Division 7 game.

Looks like he is on his way to the concessions!

Jim Lanese looks like he’s going the wrong way in the

Division 5 game.

The 2014 Officials Hospitality Suite At Ohio Stadium

With a big assist from the Central Ohio Football Officials Association and the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the Hospitality Committee welcomed nearly 400 officials and their guests during the football finals weekend. Several CFOA members serve and lead this committee and will continue to organize the annual event. More details concerning last season’s attendance and program will be reported in the next issue of the Goalpost.

Bobby Bolin is ready for the ball in the Division 2 game, or

was that 10 hot dogs for halftime?

The Chain crew for the Division I final: Mark Margevicius,

Jim Demetriu, Tom O’Donnell, Frank Soltysiak, Mike DeJohn, and Ron Gambino. Nice bibs! Were you guys

selling sandwiches before the game?

Condolences Sadly, we lost two friends and mentors recently. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to Jimmy Demetriu’s family. Hall of Fame inductee Jim worked with us on the fields for decades and contributed thoughtful insights and commentary at our meetings. Thank you, Jim. We will miss you. Bill Schneider, teacher, coach, and official passed away in November. Bill’s wisdom and stories added a unique dimension to any game you worked with him. Our sympathies are extended to Bill’s family.

Sanctions at our Level The March, 2015 edition of Referee Magazine reported actions in two states where tournament officials were sanctioned for inaccurate penalty enforcements during playoff games in 2014. Ironically both situations involved the same enforcement: flag for a coach on the field during a scoring play. Both crews disallowed the score and, doing so, wrongly enforced the foul. Dead ball succeeding spot enforcement is correct. Kentucky suspended the crew members for the first three games of 2015 and the 2015 tournament (after the first round). Their local Association also lost representation points for the 2015 playoffs. Oklahoma excused the crew of officials for the remainder of the 2014 tournament. Collegiate conferences have been disciplining officials with reprimands and suspensions for the past several seasons involving on-field, game related mistakes. Reprimands at the state high school levels seem to have been limited to cases involving illegal or illicit behavior on the part of individual officials. The actions in Kentucky and Oklahoma appear to be opening a new policy of reactions to game situations.

Oh, How We have Changed! Growing up in the fifties and playing backyard football with friends, we made up plays in the huddle, ran them and saw the results to plan the next effort. We were imitating the action in the pro and college games where field commanders (quarterbacks) would engineer drives with their teammates, and little communication with the sidelines, as the basic nature of the game. It came as a surprise to me that coaches began to influence the play calling during the game via signals and messengers as the games rules were modified. Why can’t the quarterback and teammates command the game, I thought?

CFOA hall of famer, Bill Reppa asked me to look into the rules history concerning coach/player communications. The question related to my personal recollections. Here is what I found in NFHS rules history.

In 1951 the coaches’ box was first defined. By 1957 one player with one coach could confer during a timeout. In 1969, NFHS added the coach/referee conference regarding a rule interpretation. By 1972, more than one coach could confer with a player during a timeout and in 1982, the coach could go to the huddle during timeouts. In 1989, three coaches were allowed in the restricted zone; while in 1990 the team could move to the sideline during timeouts. By 2004, the coach may request a TO and any number of players and coaches can congregate at the sideline for the conference. In 2006 headset use was authorized and by 2013, other electronic devices were allowed on the field.

Bottom line, communication between and among coaches, players, and to a lesser extent, officials, has been allowed by rule. Messenger substitutes, hand signals from non-players, diversionary posters, between play sideline visits by the quarterback, and the traditional coaches yelling from the sidelines gets instructions onto the field. The effect: players make few game decisions; coaching has moved from teaching the game to commanding the game. Good or bad, it affects our (policing) function.

The April 2015 issue of Referee Magazine ran a feature article entitled “Open for Business”. Our craft has morphed from a hobby to an industry. Consider the following: stadium microphones, high tech whistles, computerized contracting and payments, computer traded video and communication forums, and the access to rules analysts and commentators. The game has changed enormously in 50 years, even at our level, which does not share all of the advanced technology of the higher levels.

The game has changed and our working conditions have changed! Gone are the days of the field commander and the game devoid of much sideline and grandstand influence. What happened is done, snap the ball again! Instead, it is played out (repeatedly, with electronics) over and over. Our job: make the call, snap the ball again!

Your first step into the Horseshoe is awesome!

Get Involved! It pays off. One sure-fire way to advance your career on the field is to become involved off the field as an active participant in our Association. Consider among these many ways you can contribute to the CFOA and the interests of Cleveland members.

1. Consider making a presentation at a local meeting. Each of our fall meetings demands one or two presenters. Pick a topic, Contact President Mike Dame to book a date!

2. Work on a committee. Minimal time is required and you will be involved in planning CFOA business, honors, and events. Contact Mike or any executive committee member.

3. Consider a leadership role. CFOA is always looking for members interested in becoming officers or executives of our association.

4. How about becoming an occasional or routine contributor to the Goalpost? A variety of stories and presentation styles will enhance our newsletter. Contact Jim Lanese with your interest!

5. The Ohio Hospitality Committee, noted above, is seeking helpers. Become involved in the annual effort to host fellow officials from all over Ohio during the state football finals—wherever they are played. Contact Ernie Johnson via email for information.

6. Mentoring our newer members strengthens our skills, builds friendships, and promotes our members. Both personal and formalized mentoring arrangements provide satisfying results. Contact Paul Manfredi or John Mastery.

7. Would you like to become involved observing officials for the OHSAA? An annual training clinic is available every summer. Ohsaa.org will have announcements concerning this and other clinics during June and July. Your involvement boosts the CFOA’s reputation in Ohio.

8. Do you have technical skills to share? CFOA can use assistance with its website features and content. Inquire via the executive committee.

9. Do you have an interest in helping with game video (HUDL) during the season? CFOA’s expanding effort provides an opportunity to assist with serving members. Contact Bobby Bolin with questions about this opportunity.

Does anything spark an interest? Inquire now, early in the preseason to become part of the 2015 program to improve the CFOA and help all of our members.

Next Issue

Expect the first issue of Volume 22 sometime in July with information regarding the 2015 season of new initiatives, meetings, and

events.