(Mansfield): It was a heart breaker for the Tigers last Friday in Mansfield. What seemed the most painful was the fact that most of this game was spent responding to calls by officials rather then actions by their opponent.The Tigers had close to two hundred yards in penalties. Yes, it was indeed a bad night for the Tigers when it came to the yellow flags, but what broke the Tigers back was that many of those flags actually altered the destiny of their season. Many of those flags were fair, but by our view, along with others in the Pressbox, some were not. The case in point came down to the last pass interference called of the night. The play was right below and to the right of us. When Greens quarterback threw the ball into the endzone, two Tiger defenders jumped in front of the Green receiver to attempt an interception.. the Green receiver was behind the Tiger defenders. We saw no holding or contact. The ref called pass interference.That was Greens fourth down. It would have been Massillon’s ball. It seemed that action by this official directly determined the outcome of this game. NOT the teams! There are always questionable calls that teams won’t get back. With so much on the line, including protecting the integrity of the game, one must ask , is it time to petition OHSAA to provide video instant replay for all playoff games which could include challenges from coaches like other levels offer. Perhaps that time has arrived. It was a great season for a special group of young men. We wish them well, it’s just sad that their season came to a close at the hands of a referee and not the opposing team!
