Be the Referee: Most Important Line
October 31, 2019
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains what the goal line means for offenses, defenses and special teams in high school football.
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 - Most Important Line - Listen
There’s an old saying in football officiating that the most important line on the field is the goal line.
This is certainly true when it comes to touchdowns, as the high school rule is just like that at the college and pro level, where all the ball has to do is break the plane for the score.
One unique part of the goal line under high school rules deals with kicks. Whenever a kickoff or a punt breaks the plane of the goal line, it becomes a dead ball with an automatic touchback. Now, whenever the defense gets possession of the ball in the end zone, it can return a fumble or interception out of the end zone for advancement, except if it’s on an extra point or any time in overtime.
Past editions
Oct. 24: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Oct. 17: Catch Momentum - Listen
Oct. 10: Golf Rules Changes - Listen
Oct. 3: No Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 26: You Make the Overtime Call - Listen
Sept. 19: Swimming Finishing Touch - Listen
Sept. 12: Curbing Gamesmanship By Substitution - Listen
Sept. 5: Football Safety Rules Changes - Listen
Aug. 29: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
Football Finals Re-Air for Christmas
December 20, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
FOX Sports Detroit will present Michigan high school football fans with eight presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, re-airing the championship games from the 2016 MHSAA 11-Player Football Playoffs – presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
The action begins at 4 p.m. each day, with the odd-numbered divisions being shown on Christmas Eve and the even-numbered title games on Christmas Day in the order they were played at Ford Field in Detroit.
Here’s the complete schedule:
Dec. 24
4 p.m. – Division 8 – Muskegon Catholic Central 35, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6 – Muskegon Catholic Central broke this one open in the second half. QB Cameron Martinez ran for 154 yards and one TD while passing for a second score.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
6 p.m. – Division 2 – Detroit Martin Luther King 18, Walled Lake Western 0 – King does it with defense, picking off four Western passes and returning two of them for touchdowns.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
8 p.m. – Division 6 – Jackson Lumen Christi 26, Maple City Glen Lake 14 – Bo Bell comes up big for Lumen Christi, rushing for 238 yards and one TD.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
10 p.m. – Division 4 - Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10, Detroit Country Day 7 – This one was dominated by the defenses. The only GRCC first down of the day came on a fourth-quarter 44-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch from Jack Bowen to Michael Brown.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
Dec. 25
4 p.m. – Division 7 – Pewamo-Westphalia 28, Detroit Loyola 14 – Nothing can stop the PW Pirates. Jimmy Lehman throws for two touchdowns and rushes for a third against the Loyola Bulldogs.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
6 p.m. – Division 1 – Detroit Cass Tech 49, Detroit Catholic Central 20 – Cass Tech QB Rodney Hall ties a Final game record with five touchdown passes against DCC.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
8 p.m. – Division 5 – Grand Rapids West Catholic 43, Menominee 7 - Gaetano Vallone passes for 311 yards and four scores as the Falcons fly over the Maroons.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
10 p.m. – Division 3 – Orchard Lake St Mary's 29, Muskegon 28 – This went down to the wire. Ky’ren Cunningham dives to catch an 18-yard pass from Caden Prieskorn with four seconds to go to give the Eaglets the win.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
DVD’s cost $24.95, and Instant Audio Downloads are $4.99.
Things are winding down for the holidays on MHSAA.tv with School Broadcast Program members heading into a break.
In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream the rest of the month for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. On-Demand listings may be available as soon as one hour following an event’s completion. (List as of Dec. 16):
Tuesday, Dec. 20
- Boys Basketball – Romeo at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Zeeland West at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Petoskey at Alpena, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Escanaba at Marquette, 7:10 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 21
- Girls Basketball – Sault Ste. Marie at Alpena, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 22
- Ice Hockey – Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 3
- Girls Basketball – L’Anse at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. Some schools also will be selling Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
Fans can also access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.