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Super Six Football to feature coaches’ challenges

• Event opens Friday at Wheeling Island Stadium; Central plays Sat.

PARKERSBURG — The WVSSAC will put instant replay into effect for the first time during this weekend’s Super Six games at Wheeling Island Stadium.

Both coaches will be granted two red challenge flags for regulation and overtime and can only challenge turnovers and scoring plays, with the exception of extra points and field goals.

Timeouts will not be forfeited for a missed challenge and a coach cannot keep a challenge following a successful challenge.

A replay official will be on hand to look at five different camera angles to determine the correct call.

“Nationally, three states experimented with this rule of instant replay in Minnesota, New Jersey and Alabama,” WVSSAC football clinician Larry McCloy said. “Last January it passed that the state association can use instant replay in the postseason if they choose to do so.

“Here in West Virginia, we adopted it for championship games only, so we had to determine what were we going to make reviewable or challengeable. We thought ‘let’s make it turnovers and scoring plays to get the process started.’

“We decided coaches would just get two challenges so we could keep it as simple as we could as far as not losing a timeout or gaining another challenge. Just two challenges and that’s it.”

A play will stand if there is not enough visual evidence to overturn it, or be confirmed if the call on the field is 100 percent correct and it will be overturned only if there is visual evidence the call on the field is incorrect.

“DV Sport is handling the replay,” McCloy said. “A replay official will come over and review the play and make the determination.

“We have the technology there and if it can help get the call right, that’s what we want. We want the official to get the call right but if we have the technology and it’s obvious that the call on the field is not correct then we need to get it correct, if possible.”

Although, it may make games longer, the goal is to get the call right.

“It’s interesting,” Wheeling Central coach Mike Young said. “It might slow the game down a little bit but at the same time, you’re in the state championship game. If there is question on the call you can get it right. That’s what we want. We want it to be right for them and we want it to be right for us.”

Bridgeport coach John Cole, who’s team will take on Bluefield in the Class AA state title game, agreed.

“From time to time there are some questions there,” Cole said. “Over the years you can look and say ‘I think they missed that one.’

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to determine that when it happens and hopefully it will be visible to us. I don’t know if they will have screens up in the booth that our coaches can look at but we’ll see about that. But if we can see it on the field and it’s close that’s a nice little addition.

“It’s a hard job that they have. Hopefully, we won’t have anything to review but I think the SSAC stepped up a little bit to help these guys out.”

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