Friday Night Lights Out!

Off in a corner of Colorado, on a cold fall night, the Dragons of Holyoke did battle with the Huskies of Highland on the dragons Homecoming weekend. At halftime, the coldness was pushed aside by the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen. The cheerleaders from Highland, even with a cold wind blowing, showed sportsmanship by cheering on the contestants. On a night such as this, why would the lights be out?

In the wake of a fourth week of NFL concerns over bad calls from a well respected official, this seemingly uneventful High School game, saw its share of bad calls. One glaring example was after a penalty on an extra point, an official started walking off the yards against the wrong team. Another questionable call saw the ball change hands near the end of the game that may have changed the outcome of the game. If you are sitting there thinking that a few bad calls means nothing at this level, then think about a player from the losing school, who was called out by his coach for making an error, that he argues he didn’t make and is sat out for a number of plays. Evidence of the tension that has been felt by many professional players and fans of NFL games thus far this season.

Last year, the NBA found its officials on the front pages of newspapers around the world for questionable gambling and possible game fixing. The Colorado Rockies baseball team saw a few homeruns reversed by officials. The team still made the playoffs and not such claims were seen this past season. Now it’s the NFL’s turn to have questions about the training and experience of its men in stripes making an error in judgment.

The winning high school team can say, all the calls were fair, and many were, but doesn’t one have the right to question the officiating in a game that also saw 5 flags waved off? And where do you think the NFL officials come from? Isn’t it likely that they begin with high school games, move onto colleges, then hopefully on to the pros? If not, sign me up!

At the end, the final score was 20 to 14. One of the MVP’s of the game was voted Homecoming King. The bonfire was canceled because of the high winds; outdoor movie was moved inside where refreshments and drinks were being offered. The Dragons cheerleaders gave the visiting Huskies cheerleaders a bag of candy as a sign of goodwill. The temp was 43 degrees by the end of the game. Overall, it was a well fought game, with exciting play by both teams, which is what Friday Night Football is all about? Oh, that player who had an exchange with his coach, stood off from his teammates with tears in his eyes.