Anyone heard of this before?

You'd think that team would have learned from its mistake then.

 

The ref should have eaten the flag.

Refs are out there to ensure the smooth flow of the game. Not to decide it. That ref thought he would be smarter than the game.

I would ask if grounding out of the shotgun was a point of emphasis at anytime during referee clinics or during coaching clinics. It could of also been mentioned at the coin toss.

"You know coach, I have done your games already this year, and when your qb grounds the ball from the shotgun, the rules compell me to throw a flag."

If that flag came out of the blue, it was wrong. The game is about tackling, blocking and moving a ball across the goal line; not where you take a snap from center.

 

Rare is the high school quarterback who's calling his own plays, even in that situation. It's on the coach to know the rules. I'm sure in that situation he was told to run a particular play, then spike the ball if the clock was running. Coach has to say, don't spike it out of the shotgun. It's not the referee's job to make sure the team knows every odd rule. If they did that, the pregame meeting would last an hour.

It's a technical rule, sure, but it's still a rule. You might as well say that a center who strays downfield shouldn't be flagged as an ineligible receiver, because he's clearly not down there to catch a pass. But that doesn't matter. He's not supposed to be there. That's the rule.

High-school football has a few strange rules. Doesn't mean you can ignore them to 'ensure the flow of the game.'

 

I'm sure the teams properly broke huddle before every snap of the game, and the center never lifted the end of the ball before snapping.

I'm also sure all the players on the sideline stayed between the 35's and the coaches never came out onto the field a few feet when there was a live ball.

 

Actually, that's the right call. The spike has to be done from under center and, not only that, has to be immediate from under center.

If you take more than one step away from the center before you spike, it's intentional grounding.