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 League Contenders Face Off on MHSAA.tv, Bally Sports Detroit, State Champs! Sports Network
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
October 6, 2021
A trio of Friday (Oct. 8) football games with likely league title implications highlight another full week of broadcasts on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, and MHSAA media partners.
In the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference, two of the three teams sharing first place face off as Stevensville Lakeshore (5-1) travels to St. Joseph (5-1). In the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East, tied-for-second-place Dearborn Fordson (5-1) will host first-place Livonia Churchill (6-0) in a matchup that could see the latter claim a share of the league championship with a victory. Both of those games will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv, with kickoffs at 7 p.m.
This week’s Bally Sports Detroit live cable game features the leaders in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red as Caledonia (6-0) goes to Rockford (6-0). That game will be broadcast on BSD’s primary channel as well as online and on the BSD app. State Champs! Sports Network also will stream live on its website a meeting of league leaders Saturday as Warren Michigan Collegiate (4-2) hosts Harper Woods Chandler Park (4-2) for first place in the Charter School Conference East. Both games kick off at 7 p.m. on their respective game days.
Week 7 of the football regular season will see more than 175 games broadcast on MHSAA.tv, with more than 120 boys soccer games broadcast during the final full week of that sport’s regular season and more than 300 volleyball matches streamed live as that sport moves into its final month before District play begins.
See below for links to a number of notable events on the Network this week:
FOOTBALL
Oct. 8, 6:50 p.m.: Birmingham Groves at Rochester Adams
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Davison at Midland
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Stevensville Lakeshore at St. Joseph
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Utica Eisenhower at Macomb Dakota
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Portage Northern at Portage Central
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Holt at East Lansing
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Novi at Howell
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.: Livonia Churchill at Dearborn Fordson
VOLLEYBALL
Oct. 6, 6:15 p.m.: Flushing at Fenton
Oct. 7, 7 p.m.: White Lake Lakeland at Walled Lake Northern
Oct. 9, 10 a.m.: Bronson at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
BOYS SOCCER
Oct. 6, 6:45 p.m.: Grand Rapids Northview at East Grand Rapids
Oct. 6, 7 p.m.: Walled Lake North at South Lyon
Oct. 7, 7 p.m.: East Lansing at Okemos
Click the links below to see all three sports’ listings in full:
Football – Volleyball – Boys Soccer
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.