Football refs hoping to reload ranks EM officials seek former players to boost numbers

When basketball players end their high school playing careers, there’s always a local rec league nearby to keep those competitive juices flowing.

The same goes for baseball players, with opportunities locally like the Bay League to quench that thirst to hit an 85 mph fastball one more time.

But for football players, the final game of a player’s senior season usually represents a full dose of finality, save for the few standouts who move on to the college ranks.

The Eastern Maine chapter of the Maine Association of Football Officials would like to tap into that football fraternity, offering those still itching to retain a link to the game the chance to become an official.

“It’s a great opportunity for young guys who want to stay involved in the game,” said Alan Kochis of Brewer, secretary and assignor for the Eastern Maine chapter.

The Eastern Maine chapter currently boasts about 40 members who are responsible for providing coverage to approximately 14 schools from Millinocket south to Nokomis of Newport and from Foxcroft Academy inland to Belfast and Mount Desert Island on the coast.

Normally that number is enough to cover a typical Friday night of high school games in the region. The local chapter staffs from five to eight games on a given weekend, and most schools hire five-official crews, though four schools utilize four-man crews.

But sometimes it’s a close call. Take midway through the coming season, on Friday, Oct. 12, when the number of Eastern Maine schools hosting games that evening requires 38 officials – and all it takes is an illness or two or a couple of previous commitments to spread the officiating ranks very thin.

And the list of schools offering football in Eastern Maine chapter’s coverage area is growing ever so modestly. Nokomis is joining the varsity ranks this fall, while Calais-Woodland will begin playing a subvarsity schedule in September

“The number of officials has been relatively stable,” said Kochis, “but as three or four leave, you’ve got to get three or four more to take their place. We’d like to get up to 50 officials, because we’ve got a lot of officials in their 50s and 60s and they’re not going to officiate forever.

“We’re looking for some young people who played football in high school and no longer are playing but want to get back involved in the game, people who know the game and have a feel for the game.”

An official’s initial investment for a uniform and equipment is “a couple hundred bucks,” but Kochis said an official can make that investment back during his first year of officiating.

Officials work games at the varsity level on Fridays and Saturdays, junior varsity games on Mondays and freshman games on Thursdays, as well as a slate of middle school games on Tuesdays.

“New officials will not go hungry for games,” he said.

The Eastern Maine chapter meets every Tuesday night from the start of preseason practices in August through October to discuss rules and get to know each other better.

People who want more information about becoming a football official should call Kochis at 989-4372 or Eastern Maine chapter treasurer Allan Snell at 825-4515.

Flaherty named Morse coach

Todd Flaherty has been hired as the new boys varsity basketball coach at his alma mater, Morse High of Bath.

Flaherty, a 1982 Morse graduate, is a former freshman coach at the school who served as an assistant last winter to former Shipbuilders’ coach Mike Nelson.

Morse went 15-23 in two seasons under Nelson, who resigned to be closer to his family in Skowhegan.

The Shipbuilders earned a trip to the Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinals in 2006, but finished 4-14 and out of the playoff chase last winter.