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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

Catch 33 District Openers on MHSAA TV

March 2, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

More than 100 games in the District round of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament this week will have live streaming video on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.

The games will be produced by MHSAA members participating in the School Broadcast Program, either with traditional student crews or by Pixellot, the NFHS Network’s automated production solution.

Here’s the complete schedule for the opening night of the tournament, March 2: 

  • District 1 Non-Traditional Bracket  - Petoskey v. Marquette - 6 PM
  • District 4 At Grand Blanc - Davison v. Flint Kearsley - 6 PM
  • District 5 At Waterford Kettering - Rochester Adams v. Oxford - 5 PM; Romeo v. Clarkston 6:30 PM
  • District 6 At Bloomfield Hills - Bloomfield Hills v. West Bloomfield - 5 PM
  • District 7 At White Lake Lakeland - Milford v. Walled Lake Western - 7 PM
  • District 8 At Holly - Fenton v. Hartland - 6 PM
  • District 13 At Stevensville Lakeshore - Kalamazoo Central v. Portage Northern - 5:30 PM; St. Joseph v. Portage Central 7:30 PM
  • District 17 At Brighton - Dexter v. Pinckney - 5 PM; South Lyon v. Brighton - 7 PM
  • District 26 At Bloomfield Hills Marian - Southfield A&T v. Birmingham Groves 5:30 PM; Birmingham Seaholm v. Bloomfield Hills Marian - 7:15PM
  • District 31 At St. Clair Shores Lake Shore – Fraser v. St. Clair Shores Lakeview – 6 PM
  • District 32 At Macomb L'Anse Creuse North - New Baltimore Anchor Bay v. Macomb Dakota 6 PM
  • District 35 At Cadillac - Cadillac v. Ludington - 6 PM;  Manistee v. Big Rapids 8 PM
  • District 40 At Chesaning - Corunna v. Chesaning - 6 PM
  • District 42 At Fremont - Comstock Park v. Howard City Tri County - 6 PM; Newaygo v. Fremont - 7:30 PM
  • District 48 At Plainwell - Plainwell v. Parchment - 5:30 PM; Paw Paw v. Battle Creek Harper Creek - 7:30 PM
  • District 69 At Maple City Glen Lake - Elk Rapids v. Maple City Glen Lake 5:30 PM
  • District 76 At Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - Grand Rapids Covenant Christian v. Pewamo-Westphalia - 5:30 PM
  • District 79 At Kalamazoo Christian - Kalamazoo Christian v. Galesburg-Augusta - 5:30 PM; Potterville Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic - 7 PM
  • District 94 At Otisville LakeVille - Otisville LakeVille v. Burton Bendle 7 PM
  • District 96 At Bad Axe - Cass City v. Harbor Beach - 7 PM
  • District 103 At Pellston - Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian v. Beaver Island 5:30 PM; Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian v. Mackinaw City - 7 PM
  • District 121 At Plymouth Christian - Adrian Lenawee Christian v. Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner - 5:30 PM; Ann Arbor Central Academy v. Plymouth Christian Academy - 7 PM
  • District 124  At Southfield Christian - Livingston Christian v. Bloomfield Hills Roeper - 7 PM

The schedules for the District Semifinals and Finals will be released the day before those rounds. You can always reach a list of the upcoming tournament games by Clicking Here.
 
The Girls Basketball action is part of a week of more than 200 live events on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network. You can Click Here to look at the latest list of all upcoming varsity games.

Now in its 11th 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. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. 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. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as 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.