Whether it conducts its title games in a $1.2 billion NFL stadium or a Division I college football stadium, the GHSA just can’t seem to utilize all of the tools at hand, and for the second time in six seasons, Class 3A suffers from it.
Sandy Creek is the 3A champion this season, but it’s a shame the Patriots, who hadn’t won a state title in 10 years, have a cloud hanging over the victory.
In the end, Sandy Creek back Travis Franklin scored on 1-yard run late in the game to give the Patriots the lead for good over defending-champion Cedar Grove.
But the third-down touchdown, as it was called, clearly was not that.
The line judge ran in and signaled a touchdown. Then the other referee followed suit. The problem? Franklin never even threatened the goal line and was tackled at the 1-yard line.
A deflated Cedar Grove team had last-dash chance at glory thwarted by an interception by corner back Kaleb Cost, giving Sandy Creek the victory.
The play – and multiple angles of it – has gone viral nationally. It’s everywhere.
In response, GHSA board members said today the organization would “consider” adding instant replay.
If that sounds familiar ...
Roll the tape back to 2017 … Calhoun vs. Peach.
Six seasons ago, Peach County receiver Noah Whittington, who is playing for Oregon, caught a pass at the 5-yard line and scored a touchdown in the closing minutes to give Peach a lead over Calhoun in the 3A title game. But the catch, which it was, was called an incomplete pass in spite of Whittington catching the ball, turning, taking two full steps and then diving, with arm outstretched, toward the end zone. The ball popped out when he hit the ground, after clearly breaking the plane.
Following that issue, the GHSA apparently “made positive move after Peach-Calhoun misstep,” according to this article I wrote in 2018.
“For those unfamiliar with what took place on Dec. 8, 2017, here is a breakdown: With 3:33 left in the game, Peach County’s drive stalled at the Calhoun 21-yard line on fourth-and-8. The Trojans, trailing 10-6, had to go for it and sent Noah Whittington out wide up the left side. He caught a perfect pass from Antonio Gilbert at the 7-yard line and was brought down by Brannon Spector, with the ball in his out-stretched arms, directly on the goal line. The ball bobbled loose as he landed and rolled into the end zone after it seemingly bounced off the ground and his own helmet. Either way, Whittington clearly had possession until he hit the turf, which should have been first-and-goal or a touchdown.”
GHSA officials said then they would consider adding replay to state title games.
But what positive steps were taken after the Peach game? Two-day old history suggests none.
And consider this:
The Georgia Elite Classic, an elite all-star showcase that takes place at Rome’s Barron Stadium on Dec. 27-29, began experimenting with instant replay in its all-star games after the Calhoun-Peach debacle. The games, at the time, were played at McEachern, not a billion-dollar stadium or even the multi-million-dollar D-1 stadium like at Georgia State. The Classic experimented with a simple system to see if replay could work. It wasn’t the smoothest system in the world, but it did.
That’s why it’s hard to read quotations like this from board member Steven Craft to GHSFD/AJC writer Todd Holcomb:
“It is not possible in the regular season, but we need to look at using replay for the championship games,” Craft said. “We owe it to the players and coaches to do everything we can to make sure the correct result is reached.”
Isn’t that similar to what the GHSA said in 2017? And why are we sitting here five years later still trying to get by with more eyes. The GHSA added a seventh official after the Peach-Calhoun game.
“The more eyes out there, the better,’’ GHSA associate director Tommy Whittle told Holcomb for a story in 2018. “With six, if you put two deep judges on the sidelines, you’re weaker in the middle. With these spread offenses sending three deep, the umpire has to have his head on a swivel in the middle of the field. That’s really tough to do. We’ve got good officials. We’ve just got to tweak it a little to get everybody in the right spot.’’
Or buy cameras.
The HD cameras needed are relatively cheap. The company GameStrat provides a multitude of options for replay at home stadiums for with $1,775 for a top-tier two-camera system (pressbox, end zone) with full-season game-day tech support included.
In 2018, Ernie Yarbrough said there were other factors in looking at replay then. But none big enough to move forward with it.
“To be honest, the matter of bringing instant replay into football here is not something that was just brought up in light of that Peach County game or any other this past season,” Yarbrough told Gabriel Stovall of the Covington News after the Peach County-Calhoun debacle. “I believe there were a couple of states where it’s already being done, and we’ve looked at those in the past.”
So maybe now is the time to make the move.
If replay systems are in place, like they are at Georgia State and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, let’s all be smart.
Use them.
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