Just saw the play. Wow.
NO WAY should this have been flagged for delay of game. NO WAY. Then after the ref signals delay, they move the ball back 5 yards, and for some baffling reason they count the down. Unbelievable.
A couple other observations: a couple plays later when STF punts, the back judge is way out of position. This just makes we question the lack of basic fundamentals. Then on the hail mary, I'm not sure what the line judge is doing. He sprints down field and quickly makes the TD signal in the end zone. No where is that the mechanic of officiating that play.
Tough way to lose, but it is the nature of amateur sports.
Obviously i m in a minority bog one but after looking this over quite a bit I think the refs got the calls when St. Francis had the ball exactly right.
To me there are two key things.
1) the penalty for delay of game is obviously a pre-snap penalty and never involves loss of down.
But this was a dead ball after the play penalty that I believe the ihsa has chosen to also call delay of game. It could be called unsportsmanlike conduct and if it was called that then I think the issue would be clearer.
I believe the the national rules people have given each state the right to deal with the kneel downs as each state sees fit.
Illinois has obviously decided that when the offense calls for a kneel- down play that it will involve no contact by the defense and that the qb must take the snap and immediately kneel down. Otherwise why would the qb ever take a knee at all. He could take the snap and stand there for 50 seconds with the defense not allowed to make any contact.
So the illinois decision is when the offense declared a kneel down the qb must immediately do it or it’s a post play/down counts penalty. Technically it’s unsportsmanlike conduct but what it’s been decided to be called a post play delay of game and that is why the clock stopped for the flag, the five yard penalty was assessed and it was second down.
As for the second down kneel down on that play the qb went directly to his knee and that required the defrnse to call their second timeout. It took them a bit longer to get that to sour called than the time stoppage called by the red after the first down play.
On third down there was sn actual jay with contact and then the third team out was called.
2) total confusion is the the knerldown delay of game flag is not a national rule. I believe each state association was told yo make their own decision on how to handle the kneel down and as a result some fans are frustrated because the kneel down delay of game liss of down penalty is not in the national rule book.
It is not.?but I did read online that states were told to officiate kneeldownsbin a way to assure safety and fairness and this is what the state came up with.
So I tip my cap to the refs on the field. The guy running down marker and the scoreboard would not know the illinois rule and thus helped create a down confusion through no fault of their own.
Everybody knows delay of gsme pre snap is not a loss of down penalty but this was a post play delay of game in which the down counts and the flag stops the clock.
As for refs whiffing on the TD pass that ended the game, I think the refs had as god a look at the chaos of bodies on the ends zone as the play was completed as the refs did a day later st the end of the Colorado football game. So n that college okay the refs ruled TD catch and replay overruled the call. Perhaps replay would have overruled the TD cell on Friday night but we will never know.
