As I was watching the Worthington football game Wednesday night at Trojan Field, I couldn’t help but notice something was a little different about the officiating crew.
There was no referee.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of football in my day. Enough to notice the head referee, or the official who announces the calls, wears a white hat.
In the Trojans’ game against Redwood Valley, there was no white hat.
So I asked one of the members of the chain gang what was going on. I was a little late to the game and thought maybe something had happened.
The person I asked didn’t know and thought the announcer mentioned a referee.
That was when the side judge turned a looked at me.
“He died.”
I was shocked. That was the last thing I expected to hear.
The regular official had passed away after a hunting accident.
To honor their fallen friend, whose funeral was earlier Wednesday, there was no “white hat” during the game.
The officiating crew did a great job during a very emotional time.
I couldn’t imagine going out and officiating a game after such a tragedy.
But they did to honor their fallen friend.
