What many fans of high school football have noticed this fall is confirmed: Measurements for a first down, usually common, aren’t common anymore.

Turns out there’s something going on with the way officials are spotting the ball, and that keeps the chain gang, the crew that trots onto the field to measure whether a team has made a first down, on the sideline.

Game officials are following advice that’s gone national, and it will continue to play out Friday, when playoffs go on in all seven classes of Minnesota football.

“It’s not a directive, but it’s been asked of officials in amateur football across the country: Spot the ball on the closest big line,” said Jason Nickleby, the Minnesota State High School League’s coordinator of officiating services. “Spotting the ball can be challenging. I don’t know how many people have eyesight good enough to know every time exactly where the ball was when a shoulder or a knee touched the ground. So this just makes it easier on everybody.”

Nickleby emphasized that there is one notable exception: When the ball is inside the 5-yard-line, whether a team is operating in the shadow of its own goalposts or nearing the opposing goal, the ball is spotted “where it lies.”

“It’s too important in those areas,” he said. “When it gets down close to the goal line, we want the spot to be exact.”

But elsewhere the ball is placed on a marked yard line, where it’s easy to see whether it’s past the line to gain. Games move along quicker when there are fewer stoppages of play for measurements, and there’s the hope that the adjustment will take pressure off officials. Easing responsibilities on game officials holds added importance because of the well-documented shortage of officials across amateur sports.

“It just makes it easier on them,” said Nickleby, who is also a college football official working in the Big Ten as well as other conferences. “There’s really not much difference if a ball is on the 17.64-yard line or the 18-yard line.”

The adjustment has been met with positive reviews, Nickleby said.

“So far, we haven’t gotten any complaints from coaches,” he said.

*To see the the section tournament brackets in six classes and the state tournament bracket in Class 6A, click here.