It's always a shame when an official blows a call and ruins a season for a group of kids. That's certainly prevalent in high school football, where a lack of technology means a bad call has to remain just that and young athletes have to live with it.
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During the Georgia Class 3 A high school football championship on Saturday, Dec. 10, the Cedar Grove football team lost its title game to Sandy Creek after referees made an egregious call near the end of the game. The call has sparked outrage on social media because, well, just take a look...
The Sandy Creek-Cedar Grove Blown Call
This was ruled a TD in the final minute of the Georgia state championship and Sandy Creek (Red) won 21-17.
Do you agree with the call? 🤷♂️
(🎥 @GPBsports ) pic.twitter.com/hdNq9i8YEU
— MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) December 10, 2022
RELATED: No Pass, No Problem: High School Reaches State Title Game By Completing 0 Passes All Season
With 59 seconds left in the game, Sandy Creek quarterback Travis Franklin took the snap on third and goal and ran to his right looking to score, needing two yards. He was clearly brought down well short near the one-yard line. Anyone with eyes can see that.
Yet the referees rule the play a touchdown. Sandy Creek winds up winning the game, 21-17, capturing their fourth state championship in the last 15 years. Cedar Grove goes home losers.
The play in question could have completely changed the outcome. Sandy Creek would've had fourth and goal at the one-yard line, and another goal-line stand from Cedar Grove's defense surely would have given them the win.
Here's another angle of it. Who the heck is that referee signaling touchdown, and what was he looking at? No referee saw where the ball ended up?
Interesting view of the Sandy Creek winning TD, what do you think??
Via @weballsports @tiktok_us pic.twitter.com/VR7a0QHhZC
— Born to Compete™ (@borntocompete) December 10, 2022
Bad calls are an issue at every level of the game. The real issue here is that there's no instant replay available to review this. States across the country have experimented with implementing instant replay at high school games, but Georgia has none, as you can tell.
State Football Championship | Final
Congratulations #SandyCreek Patriots
Class 3A Champions 🏆@WilsonFootball @GPBsports@GaFarmBureau @GeorgiaMaxPreps pic.twitter.com/nVr8a43zfZ— GHSA (@OfficialGHSA) December 10, 2022
It's unfortunate, and those Cedar Grove kids deserve better.
