Strange Series of Events in the Lehigh - Lafayette Game Today

[Woodpecker]

I had never seen this before. Lafayette had a personal foul called against them after they ran a first down play. Somehow the refs got it in their collective heads that it was now third down. They ran another play (didn't make a first down) and their coach starts arguing about what down it is. They get penalized for delay of game; ref says it's 4th down. They punt.

During the ensuing post-possession time out, the Lafayette coach continues his discussions with the refs and convinces them that they did, indeed, screw up the downs in the previous possession. After a protracted (20 minute!) discussion among themselves they determine that the best course of action is to turn back the clock and go back a play and allow Lafayette to run their third down play. Nutty, huh? It turns out that the Patriot League has a rule to allow such a correction if the opposing team has not run a play from scrimmage.

I couldn't help but imagine the game day thread if this had happened in a Penn State game either if the Lions had originally gotten screwed out of a down or the flip-side if their opponents were given back the ball after punting it away.

Oh, Lafayette failed to get the first down on that third down play and punted it back to Lehigh.

 

[harbest]

Don't they have people on the sidelines who track plays and keep statistics? The officials could have refered to them and got everything straight.

 

[Parkland Fan]

Don't they have people on the sidelines who track plays and keep statistics? The officials could have refered to them and got everything straight.

They do have a press box official who tracks all the plays. He documents absolutely everything, even where the ball is between the hash marks. I know the official - we volunteer together at another Lehigh Athletic Facility. He is extremely detail oriented and must have been raising hell. I'll see him again in two weeks to get the story.