Be the Referee: Football Finals Replay

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

November 22, 2022

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Football Finals Replay - Listen

There’s a change to the instant replay process for the Football Finals at Ford Field.

All potential scoring and turnover plays will continue to be automatically reviewed. But new this year, coaches will be allowed to challenge one play per regulation, with some restrictions.

First, a team must have a time-out available and call it to initiate a review.

Second, there are a limited number of items that can be reviewed. Those include catch or no catch. Ball carrier in or out of bounds. Forward or backward pass. And a handful of others.

If successful, the coach will be given back the timeout and can make one more challenge in regulation.

In overtime, coaches can challenge once, no matter how many overtime periods are played – and only if they have a time out.

Previous Editions:

Nov. 11: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 4: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Oct. 25: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 18: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 11: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End ZoneListen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change
- Listen

Broadcast Schedules Set for MHSAA Football Finals Exclusively on NFHS Network

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

November 18, 2025

Over the next two weekends, and for the first time, all 10 MHSAA Football Finals will broadcast exclusively on the NFHS Network.

The two 8-Player Finals will be contested Saturday at the Superior Dome on the campus of Northern Michigan University, while the eight 11-Player Finals will be played Nov. 28 and Nov. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Detroit Lions also host the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 27, and on Nov. 29, Michigan State will host Maryland in a Big Ten matchup also at Ford Field.

A subscription to the NFHS Network is $13.99 per month – subscribe at NFHSNetwork.com. The broadcast teams for each game is below:

Division

Day

Time

Play by Play

Analyst

Sideline

8P-Div. 1

Nov. 22

11 am

Sean Baligian

Grant Perry

Patti Cesarini

8P-Div. 2

Nov. 22

2 pm

Sean Baligian

Grant Perry

Patti Cesarini

Div. 1

Nov. 30

7 pm

Evan Stockton

Grant Perry

Alexis Ayala

Div. 2

Nov. 28

7 pm

Evan Stockton

Grant Perry

Cristiana Rosa

Div. 3

Nov. 30

12:30 pm

Evan Stockton

Grant Perry

Dave Ellis

Div. 4

Nov. 28

12:30 pm

Evan Stockton

Grant Perry

Cristiana Rosa

Div. 5

Nov. 30

4 pm

Joe Jason

Chris Fritzsching

Alexis Ayala

Div. 6

Nov. 28

4 pm

Joe Jason

Chris Fritzsching

Dave Ellis

Div. 7

Nov. 30

9:30 am

Ben Holden

Chris Fritzsching

Dave Ellis

Div. 8

Nov. 28

9:30 am

Ben Holden

Chris Fritzsching

Dave Ellis

You can also listen to all 10 finals via MHSAANetwork.com. The audio call of each game is carried there for both live and on-demand listening.

Division

Day

Time

Play by Play

Analyst

8P-Div. 1

Nov. 22

11am

Matt Tjapkes

none

8P-Div. 2

Nov. 22

2pm

Matt Tjapkes

none

Div. 1

Nov. 30

7pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 2

Nov. 28

7pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 3

Nov. 30

12:30pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 4

Nov. 28

12:30pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 5

Nov. 30

4pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 6

Nov. 28

4pm

Eric Vandefifer

Adam Schihl

Div. 7

Nov. 30

9:30am

Joe Jason

Eric Vandefifer

Div. 8

Nov. 28

9:30am

Joe Jason

Eric Vandefifer

PHOTO From left: Ben Holden, Madison McCarter, Ryan Riopelle and Evan Stockton crew the first "Sunday Selection Show" exclusively on the NFHS Network, Oct. 26 from the Michigan State University School of Journalism Newsroom.