Football is a hard hitting sport, with plenty of impact, and that impact can lead to serious injuries like concussions.

The Boardman Local School District is taking a pro-active approach toward concussion prevention.

Boardman is the only district in the area and one of very few high schools in the state equipped with the Riddell InSite Impact Response System.

The system uses state of the art technology in the form of sensors placed directly inside the helmets of five football players.

"Friday night at our game, we had the monitor go off. Two of our players, it sent off the signal, it beeps, and it keeps vibrating until we acknowledge it. And then soon as the monitor went off we pulled them out, questioned them, discovered they were fine and then let them go back in," said Larry Davis, Trainer, Boardman Athletic Department.

Boardman Local School District's Assistant Athletic Director, Nick Hewko spearheaded the effort and said it's all about protecting the kids from brain injuries, and making sure no one is taking unnecessary risks with their personal safety.

"Kids nowadays, especially football players, they all want to be tough guys. Nobody wants to walk out of the game. And, it's important for us to know, especially what we are starting to learn now, what the nfl is learning, what everyone's learning about the seriousness of concussions and what can happen to an athlete down the road," said Hewko.

Hewko added that while only five players have the sensors in their helmets now, the goal is to get more players fitted with the sensors in their helmets in the future.