MISHAWAKA –  A change is coming this fall to high school football fields across the Hoosier State on Friday nights.

The state will begin a three-year experiment of using a 40-second play clock for all prep football games.

An informational meeting on the new rule, which replaces the old 25-second clock, will be held at Penn High School on July 26. The meeting, which is for head coaches, athletic directors and clock operators, will begin at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will include Bill Sorukas, president of the St. Joseph Valley Officials Association, along with Bob Kania, Indiana football rules interpreter and Robert Faulkens, IHSAA assistant commissioner.

The idea for the rule change came from coaches and officials who suggested it to the IHSAA in order to make clock operation standardized.

The 40-second play clock, which is what is used in college football games, will be started as soon as the previous play is blown dead. Previously, the 25-second play clock was started after the umpire had spotted the football and signaled for it to start.