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It is time for GHSA to implement a replay system beyond just the state championship games. GHSA approved a proposal in spring of 2023 that designated a replay booth official for each state championship game, but why does it start and stop at the championship games? Are non-championship games with high stakes not as important?

The instant replay in the state championship games was implemented in large part because a Sandy Creek player was ruled a touchdown in a state championship game in 2022 when he was clearly stopped a yard short of the end zone as the Patriots walked away with a state championship.

On Friday night in Jefferson, LaGrange was on the wrong end of one of those types of calls. Quarterback Dylan Barber rolled out, threw a pass to Malchi Fannin-Render, who caught the ball, but was ruled out of bounds in the end zone after a brief meeting by the officials. 

Multiple videos and photos from the game show that it appears Fannin-Render is in bounds. When games are this high stakes, with NIL entering high school sports and the money now on the line, the officials have to get calls in moments like that correctly, so why do they not have the full extent of the technology available?

The major counter argument against having replay in games in the semifinals or quarterfinals is how do they implement the technology in all the stadiums. While it may not be feasible to do so, GHSA can give schools an ultimatum: have the ability to have replay technology or move the game to a neutral site stadium. In just the last year teams have seen games move to neutral sites for not having the minimum seating requirement, so why can’t games be moved to neutral sites in the playoffs if schools refuse or can’t implement replay technology at games. 

Replay has even been used sporadically in the regular season games including at some of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic kickoff games. 

If semifinal games need to be played in neutral sites to best implement the replay technology then so be it, getting calls right is more important than having “home-field advantage.” With the changing landscape in high school and college sports the stakes in these games will only continue to grow and we owe it to the kids on the field to get the calls right in big moments. 

Another major argument against replay is that it takes the “human element” out of the game which I find to be silly quite frankly. Getting the calls right is what matters, not some old-school outdated thought process. 

The “human element” allows referees to be influenced and swayed by the feelings of the home crowd, players and coaches. Replay review is designed to take that out of the equation.

Take nothing away from the Jefferson Dragons, who are an elite team in 3A and deserved winners, but simply put, LaGrange deserved a chance at a two-point conversion to force overtime.

It took several brutal missed calls in state championship games, including one in 2017 when a Peach County wide receiver scored a touchdown to would have put the team up late in the state championship game, but the officials called it incomplete, so how many bad calls at the semifinals level will it take before GHSA makes a change?