That about sums it up! But if you’re not into equations, perhaps an explanation is due.

Regardless of the back-to-school schedules of individual school districts and the curriculums involved, many students have begun the task of mastering mystifying mathematical tasks. However, for Wellsboro’s Craig West, solving the above-noted mystery has been top-of-mind since long before school bells rang.

West, a retired businessman and current football officials’ assigner for the Northern Tier League, is responsible for the juggling act of providing game officials for the NTLs’ 13 football-playing schools. The task is proving akin to placing square pegs in round holes.

West began stating the dilemma by noting, “We have 13 teams in the NTL. Some weeks, there are seven home games; sometimes, there are six. I’m in charge of getting officials for all home games. We have four available crews (six officials to a crew). Therein lies the problem. We don’t have enough crews to cover all the games that are scheduled for Friday nights. We do ask for help from the PHAC (Heartland Conference) when they have extra crews left over, but they have one less crew than they had last year.

“Because we are short-crewed I wait until the PHAC schedule comes out and they are able to let me know what weeks they may be able to provide help. We are all self-employed contractors, and their officials don’t have to do games in the NTL, but they help us out when they can.

“Friday night football is when the schools like to play their games. In determining our officials’ schedule, I told our guys they are going to work every Friday night. Then, I had to wait until the PHAC could verify how much help they could provide. If they can provide two crews that allows us to cover six home games. That then determines how many games we needed to move away from Friday night.

“Once I had this information, I contacted the NTL athletic directors and let them know which weeks I need games moved. I don’t have any authority to move games, so their help is paramount. To finalize that process, we held a meeting with the ADs in early August. We had to move 16 varsity games from Friday night, and at that date, I still had seven games that needed to be moved.

“There were some weeks we didn’t have to move any, but in week five, we had to move four. Some schools elected to move games to Thursday, while others preferred Saturday. All the schools in the league moved at least one game, but one school is playing four home games that are not on Friday.

“When we are using the PHAC officials, I try and schedule them for games at either Montgomery, Muncy, South Williamsport or Northwest so they don’t have to travel as far.”

It gets further complicated when a school moves a varsity game to a Thursday, which sometimes affects a scheduled Junior High game. Schools like their Junior High teams to be at varsity games, so whether it is a home or away Junior High game, those games are often moved.

West noted his NTL chapter has twenty-eight members and welcomes more as every year presents new challenges.

“This year, we added three new officials, and over the last four years, we’ve gained a dozen officials. But those gains are comprised of officials we lost due to injury, age, or moving out of the area.

“The PIAA has a program that allows high school-aged kids to officiate Junior High games alongside certified officials. This is a good way to introduce young people to becoming officials. From my experience, it is not widespread, but we certainly welcome anyone interested in becoming an official to contact us.

“The reason I got involved in officiating 50 years ago as a college student was it gave me good gas money. I liked it and have been doing several sports ever since.”

This season, compensation for officials varies based upon the level of play. At the JV and Junior High level, officials are paid $75.00 per game. Varsity football plays $90.00 per game.

The rescheduling of Friday Night high school football games surely messes with our preferred fall routine, but given what’s being faced, it is merely an inconvenience. Few among us haven’t voiced our displeasure regarding an official’s call. But truth to tell—no officials, no game.

An 1895 Mary T. Lathrap poem contained the message, “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” This is a reminder to practice empathy. Keep that in mind when your Friday night plans change to Thursday or Saturday. Better yet, take a test, grab a whistle, and put on the striped shirt; then Friday nights can become more permanent for everyone.