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
MHSAA.tv on NFHS Network Surpasses Decade of Providing Fans Another Way to Watch
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
August 30, 2024
The way high school sports fans in Michigan follow their favorite teams changed forever 11 years ago.
MHSAA Championships began airing on the NFHS Network in 2013, and one of the oldest games archived was the season-opening varsity football game between Adrian and Carleton Airport on Aug. 30, 2013. Adrian would go on to win that game 26-7. John Koehn of WLEN in Adrian provided the play-by-play. (Watch the entire game here.)
The second, third, and fourth oldest archived streams were also Adrian football games. The first MHSAA basketball game to air was Cheboygan vs. Newberry on Dec. 10, 2013.
Since that start, more than 172,000 events in Michigan have been broadcast on the NFHS Network. Last school year alone, more than 50,000 events aired. This includes games from all levels – freshman, JV, and varsity. It includes regular-season matchups, all the way through MHSAA Finals. Most games are produced with automated cameras installed in gyms and stadiums. Schools also use student crews to produce broadcasts – providing hands-on learning opportunities for future broadcasters.
More than 600 of the MHSAA’s 752 member schools are partners of the NFHS Network. A monthly subscription to watch is $11.99 – and a portion of that goes back to schools in Michigan. To date, the NFHS Network has shared nearly $1.5 million with partner schools.
If you can’t attend a game in person, watching on the NFHS Network is a great way to support your favorite school.