Assignments
XFL Week 4 referee assignments
Referees James Carter, Reggie Smith, Brandon Cruse, and Jeff Heaser will be leading their crews in Week 4 of the XFL season.
Referees James Carter, Reggie Smith, Brandon Cruse, and Jeff Heaser will be leading their crews in Week 4 of the XFL season. Follow our live coverage here and on our Twitter page, @footballzebras.
Game assignments are below. All times are Eastern.
Game assignments
Saturday, Feb. 29
Los Angeles Wildcats at New York Guardians, 2 p.m. ABC
| Â | Â | Â | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 19 | James Carter | SEC |
| C | 82 | Ron Turner | SEC |
| U | 38 | Mike Moten | SEC |
| D | 79 | Michael Dolce | Big Ten |
| L | 44 | Steven Matarante | ACC |
| F | 5 | Glen Fucik | SEC |
| S | 99 | Clay Reynard | Pac-12 |
| B | 26 | Justin Nelson | Pac-12 |
This week, CJ Ron Turner (O’Neill crew) is substituting for CJ Amanda Sauer-Cook.
- Replay official: Mike Chase
- Ball spotter: Cory Hanson
- Supervisor: Steve Strimling
Seattle Dragons at St. Louis Battlehawks, 5 p.m. FOX
| Â | Â | Â | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2 | Reggie Smith | Big 12 |
| C | 27 | Adam Savoie | ACC |
| U | 35 | Brad Hudak | Big Ten |
| D | 11 | Dale Keller | Pac-12 |
| L | 21 | Maia Chaka | Conference USA |
| F | 63 | Daniel Gautreaux | SEC |
| S | 94 | Maurice Pierre | Conference USA |
| B | 29 | Jimmy DeBell | Conference USA |
- Replay official:Â Glenn King
- Ball spotter: Eric Oliver
- Supervisor: Chuck Bresnahan
Sunday, Mar. 1
Houston Roughnecks at Dallas Renegades, 4 p.m. FS1
| Â | Â | Â | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 81 | Brandon Cruse | Big 12 |
| C | 51 | Tab Slaughter | Big 12 |
| U | 88 | Mike Morton | ACC |
| D | 42 | Tangela Mitchell | SWAC |
| L | 59 | Brett Bergman | Big Ten |
| F | 3 | Anthony Flemming | Big 12 |
| S | 76 | Eric Hartman | ACC |
| B | 23 | David Ross | Pac-12 |
- Replay official: Mark Butterworth
- Ball spotter:Â Crystal Cooksey
- Supervisor: Larry Upson
DC Defenders at Tampa Bay Vipers, 7 p.m. ESPN2
| Â | Â | Â | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 84 | Jeff Heaser | ACC |
| C | 33 | Chris Snead | SEC |
| U | 50 | Francisco Villar | Pac-12 |
| D | 17 | Cravonne Barrett | Pac-12 |
| L | 55 | Robin DeLorenzo | Big Ten |
| F | 6 | Lo Van Pham | Big 12 |
| S | 91 | Frank Steratore | Big Ten |
| B | 58 | Joe Johnston | Pac-12 |
This week, U Francisco Villar (Blake crew) is substituting for U Scott Campbell, and RO Saleem Choudhry (Blake) is substituting for RO Robert Lu.
- Replay official:Â Saleem Choudhry
- Ball spotter: Joey Calcagino
- Supervisor: Wes Booker
Coverage
Possible penalty enforcement loophole uncovered on kickoff
While many fans have expressed their appreciation of the innovative XFL kickoff, a potential loophole may just have been exposed regarding penalty enforcement. Following a defensive dead ball personal foul after a field goal, the penalty was enforced on the kickoff, which moves the kicker 15 yards up, but does not move the position of the other players on the field. In actuality, the kicker now has a harder task ahead of him: trying to kick the ball between the receiving team’s 20-yard line and their goal line with a shorter field to work with.
XFL officiating supervisor Steve Strimling said on the ABC broadcast that the receiving team, who committed the foul on the field goal, may not be penalized as they should, but the enforcement still promotes strategic thinking in deciding to kick deep or declare an onside kick.
Replay reverses the ruling of a catch to an incomplete pass
Replay official Mark Butterworth reverses this call of a completed pass to incomplete, after ruling that Houston receiver Sammie Coates did not control the ball before stepping out of bounds, stating that his foot in the field of play was lifted up before gaining control. That’s officiating supervisor Larry Upson in the background pointing at the replay screen.
Huge penalty for a kickoff out of bounds in the XFL
Perhaps the biggest field position game-changer is a kickoff out of bounds, which instead of being placed at the receiving team’s 40-yard line, as in the NFL, the ball is placed on the kicking team’s 45-yard line.
Touchdown signaled but no review
Renegades tight end Donald Parham caught a pass and fell before the goal line but reached the ball over the plane as he lost control. The signal on the field was a touchdown but it appeared he lost control of the ball as he was reaching it out for the score.
The ball was not recovered and ended up going out of bounds around the 10-yard line as defenders failed to corral it. It should have gone to review as it was not clear or obvious that the ball crossed the plane while in the receiver’s control. XFL head of officiating Dean Blandino chimed in on the Fox Sports 1 broadcast to say that even if it was too close to reverse, the play should have been stopped to give the replay booth a closer look.
