Five Big Things in #txhsfb: 4/24/18 by Chris Doelle

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: April 24, 2018

Texas high school football breaking news

Five Big Things in Texas High School Football

It's that time again… time for my Five BIG Things! These are the things that stood out for me recently as it relates to Texas high school football. As usual, they are not listed in order of importance – just as they come to me. And yes, I know others have tried to one-up us with their 5 or 10 things... but as with just about everything cool surrounding "the greatest sport in the greatest state" ™ we did it here first and best!

NOTE: The opinions here are my own and do not represent any corporate interests, agenda and are not for sale.

1. Instant Replay – The University Interscholastic League (UIL) has announced that the 2018 Texas high school football state championships will feature instant replay. The UIL will not be initiated by a coaches challenge, instead all reviews will be initiated by the replay officials in the booth. A collegiate replay official will review the plays.

“With all UIL State Championship football games at a single location, we have the technology and ability to utilize these powerful tools to make the state championships the best possible experience for coaches, players, officials and fans,” UIL executive director Dr. Charles Breithaupt said in a statement. “Instant replay will help ensure that the calls during the biggest games of the year are as correct as possible.”

The decision has been a subject of hot debate on social media channels as 2017 saw several nail-biting finishes and at least a few questionable calls. At this time there is no discussion about adding replay to anything other than those championship games.

I, for one, am very excited to see it used for the title games this year. I can't see if ever really being adopted outside of these title games simply because the television coverage is just not there. Yes, there will even likely be some hiccups with it this season, but it is a good move.

2. LSG TXHSFB Coaches Show is rocking along! - Yes, we are ten (10) episodes into Season 3 of the Lone Star Gridiron Texas High School Football Coaches Show and once again, the feedback has been amazing. As I continue to sit down with coaches around the state and share their stories, I am inspired each week and so are the listeners.

It can now be found in more places than ever (and we have an exciting announcement regarding the show coming up soon.) As of now you can find it:

3. Flashback to Glory Days – We asked fans which historic Texas high school football teams they would like to see play again. We got some answers that are obvious. Here are the top five most requested in order:

'83 Daingerfield
'88 Dallas Carter
'78 Sealy
'85 Houston Yates
'83 Converse Judson

Not to mention a ton of former Cuero Gobbler and Gilmer Buckeye squads an even some throwbacks to teams that people living today had only heard of like the 1920 Houston Heights team that only gave up 2 points per game. Hundreds of total teams were listed which tells us that there is a wealth of Texas high school football history fans out there.

We also asked about some of the matchups you would like to see and got some great ones. What followed was a torrent of great matchups. I won't spoil it by teasing them here but look for a look into some of these historic games on the site soon.

4. Another book is in the works - Here is a teaser about something that has been sucking up all my time this offseason. I have another Texas high school football related book in the works and it is shaping up amazingly. I can tell you that the project involves myself and UIL Executive Director, Dr. Charles Breithaupt. I can't wait to announce it and share this great story with the world. This is definitely going to be a must-read for fans of our sport.

5. Kickstarter coming soon - Another tease! We are putting the final touches on a Kickstarter campaign and everyone that has seen the preliminary work is saying, "Oh yeah! This is going to be great!" Look for an announcement here in the next 7-10 days and for the Kickstarter to kickoff May 1st! Sign up to be notified at www.fridaynightlegends.com

by Chris Doelle