Worst Ref Call Stories!
- Thread starter Squirt11
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2016, Heritage at Mitchell. Receiver touches the ball to the ground to hold his balance on the 1, refs signal TD 14-12 Mitchell going into halftime. Hold the phone, Joey throws a tantrum, refs wave off the td, despite knowing it wasn't a dead play.
In the same game, Swain at Andrews and this was when Andrews were competitive. And Swain had score and Andrews ran a double reverse on the kick off. Well Swain nailed the guy without the ball and that kid:with the ball was near the fifty with nobody within 15 yards and one of the refs had blown the play down at the spot of the tackle of the wrong kid! Later on, Swain had the ball on Andrews 20 or 25 third and ten..... well three plays later and three make up calls put the ball back the Swain 40. Holding calls..... any way Swain punts the ball the poor kid from Andrews miss judges the ball and Swain scored for the punt never hit the ground. Oh, on each of those holding calls Swain had scored on the long ball. Never will forget that.
Northern Vance at Rocky Mount in 2005. We (NV) are up 14-6 and are on the three with 2 seconds left in the half. We throw a dig route to the end zone. The receiver is knocked flat by the corner who tips the ball up and then intercepts the pass. He runs 95 yards and is tackled at the five. The trailing official is at the 25 and throws his hands up showing touchdown. The Gryphons kick the pat and the white cap puts his arm around ole ... ... coach and walks down the middle of the field to the fieldhouse for halftime. I not only didn't get the pass interference call, they got a t.d. five yards short with no time left in the half.
Well let's see. Where to start is the real question I guess. I have seen a bounce pass at Franklin beat Murphy in the last seconds. I have seen a pass interference call beat Murphy at hayesville after the ball had been blocked at the line and the corner and receiver were both going for the jump ball basically which neither got to because it was uncatchable, then on the next 4th down after that they called the tom Brady rule forward pass motion after Murphy got a sack/fumble and recovery on the QB that was clearly running and never intended or attempted to pass the ball. I don't have all day to argue so I wont go into the 80 yard run at rville that beat Murphy after the runner was down. Because none of those calls add up to a hill of beans compared to what I figure is the worst wrong call against Murphy in history. Which was at state vs Plymouth. I forget what year. Maybe 12. But Posey, Murphy's rb was headed towards the endzone in the last minutes to seal the game. He got ran down about the ten and tackled from behind. He was down from his toes to his chest but when the ball hit the ground it rolled out of the back of the endzone. The refs gave the ball back to Plymouth and game over. Cost Murphy a state championship. I know one play doesn't determine a game. Blah blah blah. and I totally agree with that. But that's the biggest/worst call against Murphy I have seen.
My dad was a football official for over 25 years. Dad told me stories through the years of bad calls he and others on his crew made. Not to mention the time he wasn't quick enough to avoid a sweep to the sideline and ended up with a broken leg. They are doing the best you can in a hostile environment and these aren't paid professionals. There is a real shortage of guys willing to go out on the field, risk physical harm and take that kind of abuse from coaches, players and fans. Of course there are bad calls, and sometimes those calls can affect the outcome of games. The biggest problem I have is a culture of dogging referees all night. I hear it from some Tarboro folks in the stands when the Vikings are ahead 42-0 and the clock is running. Say what you will, being a high school football official is a calling. You don't do it because it pays well. You do it because you love the game and you are trying to contribute something. It is truly embarrassing how people that claim to love HS school football are so quick to hammer on the officials. They aren't perfect, but they don't deserve to be reviled. If anything, they deserve your thanks.
I'm not protesting this thread mind you, but I just ask that you show some respect. Everything posted so far is cool. This is just an itch I needed to scratch I guess.
I'm not protesting this thread mind you, but I just ask that you show some respect. Everything posted so far is cool. This is just an itch I needed to scratch I guess.
You are correct he was never down on the ground. Trouble with that is, that was never the argument. Keep telling yourself what ever makes you feel good. Like I said. It doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
I have never understood why a coach would cuss a ref. When I coached youth I never once said anything bad to a ref. I may say “hey man watch for so in so he’s holding my kids” and would get a call. But I’ve seen others cuss and call refs all kinda names and never get a call. I know there’s a big difference between pee wee and high school (more at stake) but these are the same refs that ref on Friday nights. They have a job to do
You said the runner was down now you said he was never down.
Which way you going with it?
Having watched Cruz his whole HS career, he moved many a pile like that. In saying that I’m sure those refs called many of his games as well and seen it too. The pile never stopped so no whistle, hence his ability to break out and score. Did the same thing to Plymouth and N. Henderson.
I'm sorry mr perfect I see now I used the word "down".. but you obviously know what play I'm talking about and everyone knew what I meant. Agree to disagree is all we can do. I hope I didn't upset you.
Swain v Avery 2011 first round playoffs. Swain got a penalty almost after every touchdown for smacking each others hand. There was no taunting just celebrating with teammates.
I saw so many in my years as a photographer. Some were really bad and some were makeup calls from a bad previous call. I think some new Refs just want attention and to throw their first flag. Long term Refs aren't as bad. I did hear in the 1990s but it was hearsay from someone that I took for their word and I think they knew what they were saying was true but I think maybe The NCHSAA sends a special Ref to schools sometimes to watch to see how the Refs are doing. They may not still do it and may never have but maybe a different school every week. SportsNut17 may can clear this up. This person came out on the sideline walking with a cane for a while then I think he went to the bleachers.The game was at Mount Airy High School, that I remember. SportsNut17 is this true or miss-information or no longer done ?
They are not sent not sent by NCHSAA, Our association has 4 or 5 observers. They are assigned by our Regional Supervisor, just like we are assigned. Matter of fact I was observed last Friday night, I can only speak for us, but I'm guessing most associations throughout the state have them. Our observers are usually long time officials that have retired from the field.
I've seen a lot bad calls over the years, but 2 that stick out:
- East Gaston playing Olympic. Very late in the game East Gaston leading 8-7. Olympic has 1st and goal from from about our 8 yard line. East Gaston keeps Olympic out of the end zone for 4 downs, but wait a minute Olympic gets a 5th down, kicks a field goal and wins 10-8.
- In the early 2000's East Gaston playing High Point Central in a playoff game. East Gaston kicks a field goal in OT that would have won the game. Refs called the FG no good, film clearly showed the FG was good. HPC ended up winning the game on the next OT series.
This wasn't a bad call but was funny. Mid 90's, East Gaston playing at home in a playoff game against Independence. Independence Head Coach Rusty Jester is all over the ref and ref eventually blows his whistle and throws an unsportsmanship flag on Jester. Ref marches off 15 yards, Jester is still chewing on the ref step by step. Ref marches off the 15 yards, blows his whistle and throws the flag again. Same thing, Jester step by step, still chewing. Ref does the same thing again, 15 more yards. At the end of the 3 flags (45 yards in all), Jester quit walking!
- East Gaston playing Olympic. Very late in the game East Gaston leading 8-7. Olympic has 1st and goal from from about our 8 yard line. East Gaston keeps Olympic out of the end zone for 4 downs, but wait a minute Olympic gets a 5th down, kicks a field goal and wins 10-8.
- In the early 2000's East Gaston playing High Point Central in a playoff game. East Gaston kicks a field goal in OT that would have won the game. Refs called the FG no good, film clearly showed the FG was good. HPC ended up winning the game on the next OT series.
This wasn't a bad call but was funny. Mid 90's, East Gaston playing at home in a playoff game against Independence. Independence Head Coach Rusty Jester is all over the ref and ref eventually blows his whistle and throws an unsportsmanship flag on Jester. Ref marches off 15 yards, Jester is still chewing on the ref step by step. Ref marches off the 15 yards, blows his whistle and throws the flag again. Same thing, Jester step by step, still chewing. Ref does the same thing again, 15 more yards. At the end of the 3 flags (45 yards in all), Jester quit walking!
Mitchell at Owen in 2011. QB for Mitchell, Juggy Hughes, ran probably a 110 yard TD and dove into the end zone with an Owen defender right on his tail. TD called back for unsportsmanlike and I believe Mitchell lost by a score.
Great post. I tryed calling football and I don’t care how much you think you know setting in the bleachers. It a whole different view on the field. It’s almost impossible to see Everyhing that goes on ever play.
I think the most frustrating thing for most fans and coaches is when refs miss obvious calls, especially when it happens right in front of them. Heck, a week or two ago I witnessed an obvious late hit take place 5 feet in front of the line judge while he was staring straight at the play. Luckily, both the white hat and a back judge threw flags in and addressed the blatant infraction. Mistakes tend to be amplified further when it happens on a big play that can have a dramatic impact on the outcome of a game (example - there was a skip pass in last year's MA/ES regular season game that went for a TD - it happened on a 3rd down and if called correctly would have forced a punt rather than a score). We all know that refs aren't perfect and will miss calls from time to time. The frustration comes from those few refs who miss many calls frequently, especially when they are obvious calls. Fortunately, we do have some very good refs who get things right most of the time. By playoff time many of the weaker officials get weeded out by not being assigned to important playoff games.
During a game with Robbinsville at Smoky Mountain in 2014 or 15, I can't remember now. The side judge ran into a reporter on the SM sideline who was from Robbinsville taking pictures. The ref fell down and flagged me saying I was who he ran into. I was not. I pointed to the camera man as he slithered down the sideline to the other side. That same ref was the one accused of wrongdoing with Franklin.
I agree with Bulldog 27 23 that the fumble call in the 2012 state title game was the most expensive call ive seen against Murphy...but the 2002 game at west henderson was FIXED and featured NUMEROUS intentional calls against Murphy. The refs were NOT letting Murphy win that game whatever it took...the refs ran into a problem thinking 4 or 5 bad calls woud beat Murphy that night...they didnt, Murphy kept coming on, and it caused the refs to go into FULL TILT FIX MODE...refs had to resort to making a least a dozen clearly phantom calls and even all those calls barley dragged west henderson to a close win....can I prove the game was fixed to a jury ? probably not...But do I know 110 percent in my mind that I witnessed a fixed high school game that night ? You DAMN right I do !
The "Whistle Call" came in 1978 when someone in the stands on the Robbinsville sideline blew a whistle, and Rosman QB Billy Powell thought the play had been blown dead, so he laid the ball down, and Robbinsville's Shane Laughter picked it up, and raced about 80yds the other way with the winning TD with about 2 minutes left in the game.....
Tigers should have won that game and the game in 1983, but the refs seen it different....