TheLounge
10-24-2007, 01:39 PM
All football fans think they know everything about the game. But did you know there are several differences between the high school and professional game?
I admit it: I’m one of those people that thought I knew just about everything about the rules of football —*apparently I didn’t know all the rules of high school football. For example, a receiver bursts off the line of scrimmage and is harassed and bumped by the defensive back all the way down the field. Is this pass interference? It’s kind of a trick question: It is not pass interference until the ball is in the air AND that receiver is the intended target. If neither of those two conditions exist, defenders are allowed to hit the receiver as much as he wants.
Another important aspect of pass interference at the high school level: It is not a spot foul. So even if the infraction happened 60 yards or 1 yard away, the officials still only march off 15 yards.
***
Aragon fullback/linebacker Matuu Pulotu does not want your sympathy —*or your help —*coming off the field. In the second half of the Dons’ 49-18 win over Menlo School Friday, Pulotu was left laying on the ground following a play. Teammate Seta Pohahau went over, picked up Pulotu’s leg and started to stretch out his calf muscle —*an obvious sign of a cramp. When that didn’t work, the trainer and head coach Steve Sell went out to see what was wrong. After a quick massage, Sell called out a couple of Pulotu’s bigger teammates to help the 5-foot-8, 250 pound junior off the ground.
They then made the mistake of trying to carry Pulotu off the field. In disgust, he threw their arms off his shoulders while chastising them, “Man, it’s just a cramp!”
He hobbled off the field under his own power, got some water, stretched out his legs and went back in a few plays later.
***
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the “unwritten rules” in the game of football. I have another one: When a player, who doesn’t carry the ball a lot, carries the ball down near the goal line, the coach should give him at least one shot to get into the end zone.
That was the situation the aforementioned Pulotu had against Menlo. He carried the ball only seven times, gaining 37 yards in the Dons’ win. Late in the second quarter, however, Pulotu had back-to-back carries in the Menlo red zone. The first went for six yards and the second went for 12 —*a run that needed several Menlo defenders to bring him down. That second run took the ball down to 1-yard line. The Dons called a timeout and on the next play quarterback Alex Miller kept the ball himself and plowed into the end zone from a yard out.
I know coaches don’t like to have the ball being transferred to different players. There are too many things that can go wrong even with a simple action as the handoff. But come on, coach. Give the big man some love!
***
There’s been a change in the football schedule this weekend. The Hillsdale at San Mateo game was changed from 3 p.m. to a 7 p.m. start. San Mateo will bring in portable lights for the game.
Co-athletic director Steven Kryger said the game was changed because the school wants to honor long-time coach Buz Williams. The school is naming the entry plaza to the stadium in coach Williams’ honor.
Williams coached football at San Mateo for 30 years, compiling a 201-90-5 record. He won eight league titles and two Central Coast Section championships. The 1985 Bearcats went 12-0 and took home the CCS title and won it again in 1986 —*the school’s last until winning it again 17 years later in 2003.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
I admit it: I’m one of those people that thought I knew just about everything about the rules of football —*apparently I didn’t know all the rules of high school football. For example, a receiver bursts off the line of scrimmage and is harassed and bumped by the defensive back all the way down the field. Is this pass interference? It’s kind of a trick question: It is not pass interference until the ball is in the air AND that receiver is the intended target. If neither of those two conditions exist, defenders are allowed to hit the receiver as much as he wants.
Another important aspect of pass interference at the high school level: It is not a spot foul. So even if the infraction happened 60 yards or 1 yard away, the officials still only march off 15 yards.
***
Aragon fullback/linebacker Matuu Pulotu does not want your sympathy —*or your help —*coming off the field. In the second half of the Dons’ 49-18 win over Menlo School Friday, Pulotu was left laying on the ground following a play. Teammate Seta Pohahau went over, picked up Pulotu’s leg and started to stretch out his calf muscle —*an obvious sign of a cramp. When that didn’t work, the trainer and head coach Steve Sell went out to see what was wrong. After a quick massage, Sell called out a couple of Pulotu’s bigger teammates to help the 5-foot-8, 250 pound junior off the ground.
They then made the mistake of trying to carry Pulotu off the field. In disgust, he threw their arms off his shoulders while chastising them, “Man, it’s just a cramp!”
He hobbled off the field under his own power, got some water, stretched out his legs and went back in a few plays later.
***
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the “unwritten rules” in the game of football. I have another one: When a player, who doesn’t carry the ball a lot, carries the ball down near the goal line, the coach should give him at least one shot to get into the end zone.
That was the situation the aforementioned Pulotu had against Menlo. He carried the ball only seven times, gaining 37 yards in the Dons’ win. Late in the second quarter, however, Pulotu had back-to-back carries in the Menlo red zone. The first went for six yards and the second went for 12 —*a run that needed several Menlo defenders to bring him down. That second run took the ball down to 1-yard line. The Dons called a timeout and on the next play quarterback Alex Miller kept the ball himself and plowed into the end zone from a yard out.
I know coaches don’t like to have the ball being transferred to different players. There are too many things that can go wrong even with a simple action as the handoff. But come on, coach. Give the big man some love!
***
There’s been a change in the football schedule this weekend. The Hillsdale at San Mateo game was changed from 3 p.m. to a 7 p.m. start. San Mateo will bring in portable lights for the game.
Co-athletic director Steven Kryger said the game was changed because the school wants to honor long-time coach Buz Williams. The school is naming the entry plaza to the stadium in coach Williams’ honor.
Williams coached football at San Mateo for 30 years, compiling a 201-90-5 record. He won eight league titles and two Central Coast Section championships. The 1985 Bearcats went 12-0 and took home the CCS title and won it again in 1986 —*the school’s last until winning it again 17 years later in 2003.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.