'Prepapalooza' Kicks Off 3-Week Celebration
May 31, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nearly 30,000 athletes will take part over the next six days in what will again be the busiest week of the MHSAA calendar, with teams in all nine spring sports competing for District, Regional or Finals championships at sites across both peninsulas.
The first Finals champions of this spring will be awarded Wednesday in Upper Peninsula boys tennis (UPDATE: both U.P. tennis Finals have been moved to Thursday due to rainy weather concerns), followed by six more in Upper Peninsula boys and girls golf Thursday. Four divisions of Lower Peninsula girls tennis start their two-day tournament Friday, and on Saturday, more than 7,000 athletes will join them competing in four Lower and three Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals.
In addition, baseball, softball and girls soccer teams begin District action tonight, with most of those tournaments wrapping Saturday. Girls and boys lacrosse teams continue Regional play this week, and Lower Peninsula boys golf teams will play Regionals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Second Half again will serve as your home for all MHSAA Finals coverage, with correspondents providing stories and photos, along with full results, from all of the Upper Peninsula Finals this week and then all 18 LP and UP Finals this weekend, Lacrosse and LP Golf Finals on June 14, and Baseball, Softball and Soccer Finals being played June 19-21.
Check back as well for video highlights from most competitions and sign up to watch all broadcast tournament action over the next three weeks for only $9.95 on MHSAA.tv. All schedules, lists of competitors and tournament brackets updated with scores real-time can be found on MHSAA.com. Keep connected as well with the MHSAA’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PHOTO: The Unionville-Sebewaing softball team celebrates last season's Division 4 championship.
Set, Ready, Challenge: 11-Player Football Finals Challenges New in 2022
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
November 25, 2022
New this year at the MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals is the opportunity for head coaches to challenge a call.
In previous years, all potential scoring plays and potential turnovers were automatically reviewed. That process will continue and now, under a limited set of circumstances, the head coach can challenge calls.
To do so, the head coach must first call a timeout. If a team has no timeouts remaining, they are not able to challenge a call. Challenges must be presented to the officials immediately after the timeout is granted. If the challenge is successful, the team will get its timeout back and have the ability to challenge one more call during regulation. A second successful challenge will not result in the ability to challenge a third call.
The following plays are reviewable by challenge:
- Complete/incomplete passes
- Runner/receiver in/out of bounds
- Runner ruled not down
- Forward progress spot as it relates to the yard to gain
- First touching of a kick
- Recovery of a ball in/out of bounds
- Forward/backward pass
- Penalties called on the field only for:
- Illegal forward pass
- Targeting or illegal helmet contact
- Pass interference only as it relates to the pass being previously tipped
NOTE: All other penalties called on the field are not reviewable. These include, but are not limited to: illegal formation, ineligible receivers downfield, illegal participation, illegal substitution or delay of game. If a penalty is not called by the officials on the field, the play can never be reviewed to retroactively call a penalty.
In overtime, challenges – like timeouts – reset. Each team has the ability to challenge one call for the entirety of overtime, but must have a timeout to use to do so. A successful challenge in overtime will not result in the ability to challenge a second call.
If a play is overturned in regulation or overtime, the replay officials will correct all aspects of the play including time, position of the ball and whether the clock will be started on the RFP or snap. The game clock or play clock may be reviewed only as it directly relates to the overturning of a call on the field.
There is no change to the review of potential scoring and potential turnover plays. Those plays are automatically looked at by the replay official and replay assistant. If the replay official can confirm the ruling on the field without stopping play, the official will do so. If more time is needed to review the play, the on-field referee will announce that and then will announce the replay official’s decision. For a play to be reversed, there must be indisputable video evidence that shows the original call was incorrect. Every attempt will be made to complete the review process in 90 seconds or less.
The addition of the coach’s challenge was approved by the MHSAA’s Representative Council at its May 2022 meeting.