At Oak Lawn, they're putting it on the board

Is it live or is it Memorex?

For fans attending Oak Lawn High School home football games, it's both.

That's because fans have the opportunity to view the game and replays of specific plays on an in-game instant replay screen adjacent to the field.

The 20-by-20 video screen, situated in the southwest corner of the stadium and next to the home bleachers, broadcasts the entire game live for fans to watch. For fans with a difficult angle to the field, the video screen provides another option for watching the drama unfold.

"It's been a success," Oak Lawn athletic director Pat Keeley said. "People who want to see a replay of a specific play have an opportunity to do that at our home games. There's enthusiasm that we're offering this."

The main objective of the video screen is to allow fans to catch a replay of jaw-jarring tackles, momentum-altering plays and crowd-pleasing touchdowns. The school claims to be the first in Illinois to provide replays at a high school stadium.

Tonight's final regular-season home game, against Reavis, will be the third outing for the replay screen - as long as it doesn't rain. The projection equipment can't get wet.

The concept is the brainchild of Oak Lawn Audio-Video Club sponsor Nick Grijalva.

"The game against Richards, there was a big hit and the crowd reacted to it," said Grijalva, an English teacher at the school. "Then we replayed the hit and we got a similar reaction from the crowd. I didn't expect it to be so popular, but people are noticing it."

Grijalva was driving home from school one day and thought to himself, "We have a big screen and a projector, there has to be a way we can do this."

By the time Oak Lawn hosted Argo on Oct. 3, Grijalva and his eight-person crew of students - Kevin Lindsay, Kyle Ferraro, Chris Scott, Daniele Peixoto, Stephanie O'Sullivan, Kevin Johnson, Bob Reynolds and David Buckels - were ready to go.

The club already had the experience of filming school assemblies, musicals and other sporting events.

The challenge was to perform the same magic during a football game, while offering in-game instant replays.

Three cameras, along with a play-by-play announcer, provide complete action of the game.

"It's great experience for all the kids working on this," Grijalva said.

Grijalva, who along with the rest of the club begins setting up some two hours prior to kickoff, decides which camera provides the best angle for replay.

"Each camera can rewind to a play, and I can switch to that camera to show the replay," Grijalva said. "There were some glitches, like anything you do the first time. But it went better the second game. I've had comments from students and teachers at how much they enjoy it."

Having an opportunity to view replays has helped Reynolds, the play-by-play announcer, perform his duties better. With fans constantly blocking his view, Reynolds has had difficulty calling plays accurately at times.

"People block me all the time, so I look at the replay to make sure I make the correct call," said Reynolds, a three-sport athlete at the school. "People have come up to me and say it's really cool. They tell me they want to see a replay of a certain play."

One contingent that could have reacted unfavorably to instant replay was the officiating crew. But Keeley eased the zebras' concerns.

"The officials were fine, as long as we didn't incite the crowd with any controversial calls," said Keeley, who confirmed the concept will return next season. "It's been fine. We want to build school spirit and the experiences of kids coming to games at Oak Lawn."