(photo via highschoolfootballamerica.com)

Technology has proven to be a practical tool in assisting us for almost any purpose. Cellphones allow us contact, TV provides entertainment and instant replay aids in officiating sports.

Since its introduction to the NFL in the 1970s, instant replay has become more advanced and has helped the game reach new heights in fairness and accuracy. It’s been implemented in pro and college football, but still isn’t used at the high school level – yet.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Association recently announced instant replay will be coming to a selected number of its state's high schools for regular-season games. Chairman of the NJSIAA Replay Committee, Carmine Picardo, said they want to eliminate errors that could interfere with a team’s chance of winning.

“The overriding philosophy is if we can fix a really bad mistake that is made, then why not?” Picardo told north jersey.com. “It’s not because we’re the NFL, we don’t want to look at every item, but we don’t want a team to win or lose a game on an egregious error if we can fix it.”

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New Jersey and Alabama will be the only states to use instant replay during the regular season. Minnesota will use it for the state semifinals and finals, a policy it began last season, and Texas will only use it for state finals games that are played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.  

The Alabama High School Athletic Association will permit the use of instant replay through technology from DV Sport, a system specifically designed for NCAA football. AHSAA Director of officials Mark Jones said it would be an experiment.

“We’ll find things we may need to tweak or do better.” Jones said.

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New Jersey is going a different route for its technology system. The NJSIAA partnered with HUDL, a popular sports-based software that enables coaches to review footage and analysis. Each school that's permitted to use instant replay must be equipped with two HUDL cameras – one in the end zone and one along the sidelines.

As far as costs go, Picardo said many schools already use HUDL technology and won’t be subjected to further expenditures.

“The money they have invested in the system has already been invested," Picardo said. "There is really no downside to a school participating in replay.” 

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The 24-page manual introduced by the NJSIAA includes details of what plays can and can’t be challenged. Similarly modeled after NFL and NCAA procedures, only coaches have the authority to issue a challenge. They’re only allowed one challenge per half and penalties can never be reviewed. Only scoring plays and turnovers can be reviewed. 

Guidelines are still in the works, but a new era is coming for high school football.

“Everyone has to understand it’s high school football, and we don’t want to get carried away,” Picardo said. “We want to make sure we can fix a bad mistake, and we think we can do it.”