The Push for Instant Replay in Georgia High School Football

Hillgrove versus McEachern in 2019. Parkview versus Archer in 2018. Peach County versus Calhoun in 2017. Those three games are the perfect advocates for the institution of instant replay in Georgia high school football. 

Hillgrove lost on the last play of the game as quarterback Matthew McCravy dove for the right pylon and seemed to score the go-ahead touchdown, only for a referee to mark him out of bounds at the 1. Several TV angles showed that McCravy stretched the ball over the pylon for the score. 

Parkview, mounting a late drive in the playoffs, converted a long fourth down, only to have forward progress marked short of the first down marker. Several TV angles showed that the first down was made. 

Peach County completed a pass on fourth and 8 with the receiver clearly establishing control of the ball and then diving for the pylon and losing the football as he hit the ground. Officials shockingly ruled the pass incomplete. Several TV angles showed that the pass was clearly complete.

These calls come to mind easily because they negatively affected the outcome. However, these mishaps occur more often than not and become forgotten many times because the team who had the call against them still won. 

In the 2017 7A state championship, Colquitt County completed a low pass on fourth down to keep their final drive alive. However, replay showed that the ball may have hit the ground, which would result in a turnover. Had North Gwinnett lost that game, this call would join others in history. 

Just three years later, in the 2020 7A state championship, Collins Hill wide receiver Travis Hunter was robbed of a spectacular catch in the back of the endzone. While it likely would not have affected the result of the game, it still demonstrates a lack of solid officiating.

The push for instant replay grows every year, and the uproar its absence has caused in recent years is unlike any before. 

While its benefits seem obvious, there are some other, lesser-known advantages. Instant replay can help ease pressure on referees, who can now be reassured that any potential misjudgements can be righted. It can also reestablish the public’s confidence in the officiating system statewide. 

Most of all, it is simply the right thing to do. It is impossible to expect any person’s judgement to be impeccable, as mistakes are inevitable. Instant replay can simply serve as a guidance tool to learn from and to implement in critical times. 

Texas has even used its instant replay system to confirm a state title-winning hail mary between North Shore and Duncanville. 

Maybe it is time that Georgia does the same: implement replay for state championship games. Eventually, it could encompass the entire playoffs. 

All that’s left is taking the first step in the right direction. Incorporating instant replay seems inevitable, so why not start now?

Written by: Dhruv Mohan