Saturdays-Week 1

Started my officiating college football this past Saturday. I referee Division III NCAA football and it was a night game at 7pm. Typically the games are at 1pm and we referee with the same crew.

I was actually a guess this week on a crew since my normal crew doesn't start until this Saturday. The guys I had the pleasure officiating with were all great and cool guys. As I stated above the games typically start at 1pm and pregame would be 10:30am.

I met the guys at a local restaurant at around 3:30pm. We ate and chatted for a little bit. Then we all headed over the stadium. We got to the locker room at 4:30pm sharp.

First thing we did was have our pregame and it was a good one. We talked about the new rules especially the timing rules. Then since I was a sub we made sure we were on the same page as far as our keys to watch for on scrimmage plays and kick plays as well as positioning.

My position is the Field Judge so I especially had to communicate with the Line Judge, Back Judge, and Side Judge.
We talked a lot about positioning on kickoffs and punts. Then we conversed about responsiblities and mechanics to use on fake or botched field goals and extra points. As the Field Judge I'm always under the upright opposite the Back Judge. If the field goal or xp is botched or faked and it's inside the 15-20 yard line I will try to slide out towards the sideline but keep an eye on the play as it develops. If it's outside this 15-20 I slide up to the goal line.

Forty-five minutes before kickoff I walk out onto the field with the Side Judge and we both have the game balls. We talk to the ball boys on our respective sidelines and check the field out. Both the home and visiting teams head back into the locker room about 20 minutes before kickoff.

Six minutes before kickoff I gather up the captains from the home team and we walk down to the field for the coin toss that happens three minutes before kickoff. Coin toss over, all the referees to the center of the field and we break out 1 minute on the clock.

7pm sharp is kickoff and away we go. Pretty competitive game and the fans are really into it. For the most part a pretty clean game. I have one flag in the game for holding on the WR split out wide.

It was a close game for the most part but the home team pulled it out by 12. Nothing else out of the ordinary.

It was fun to get back out there and get the season started. Game over around 9:30pm. Once again the crew I was substituting with were great. I have another game with them later in the year.

So I'm back at it again this Saturday with my regular crew.

Gotta love Saturdays!