THE CLEVELAND FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION

THE GOALPOST THE OFFICIAL’S NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 2015 JM LANESE, EDITOR

Members of the CFOA

Hall of Fame Pete Amico

Steve Bernardic George Brown

Don Brown Bobby Brown C.H.Brubaker Eric Calhoun Sam DiSantis Fred Heinlen Dave Hicks

Clarence Hudson Jerry Katherman

Bill Kingzett Paul Lanis

Kirby Laughlin Hal Lebovitz

Herman Marolt Gordon McCarter

Jerry Newman Jack O’Roarke

Stan Orzech Bill Owens

Mike Palermo Sam Palumbo

Pat Pasini Tony Pianowski

Robert Rice ‘Chump’ Richardson

Russell Rupp Don Schirmer

Bill Sudeck Ralph Vince

Gene Wodzisz Roy Wisecup Jerry Sulecki

Bob Blatchford Alex Rubins Al Ciamacca Chuck Hill

Frank Conge Wendy Babson

John Broski Joe Lesko

Fred Shirley Billy Reynolds

Ray Gentile John Jones Dan Mason

Howard Eckert Bill Reppa

Ed Desmarteau Joe Buynak

Allan Pintner Dale McRitchie

Doug Roof Tom Guzowski

Don Mohr, Steve Hering Ike Ganyard

Bill Klenoshek Randy Morgan Jim Demetriu

Art Guhde Gary Huspaska Chuck Martin Monte Mlakar

Ken Reiber

Special Guests! CFOA Hall of Fame

Join our Hall of Famers in welcoming the 2015 Hall of Fame Class and other honorees! The event will be held Thursday, November 5, at Tizzanos Party Center in Euclid. The evening begins with cocktails at 6:00 with business meeting, dinner, and the awards program to follow. This year several of our current Hall of Fame members will attend. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet, greet, and congratulate the honorees. The Class of 2015 will be inducted:

Joe Dubyak retired after 50 years of active officiating in 2014. He began working Cleveland’s fields in 1964 while in law school at CWRU. During his time on the field, Joe served his fellow officials and our association as Secretary from 1974 to 2000, as President of the CFOA in 2005, and as the mechanics interpreter until 2011. He served in 68 playoff games including 12 state championships. Joe also officiated basketball at the high school and collegiate levels.

Steve Furjanic began officiating football in 1971 and has been a member of the CFOA for 44 years. Steve worked as a high school football through 1988, when Steve became a Division I MAC (Mid American Conference) football official and worked in this conference and numerous post season bowl games until 2008. After Steve left the college football field he has continued to stay involved in football having worked as a MAC replay communicator from 2009 to 2014 and currently is a MAC replay official. In addition, you can also find Steve still working some 7th and 8th grade football games.

Bobby Moran officiated football for 47 years at the high school and collegiate level. He also worked basketball and continues to work high school and college track and field and high school volleyball. Bobby has logged 20 years of Division 1 service including Bowl assignments at the Stagg, Cherry, Raisin, and Music. He officiated in ten OHSAA football championship games. Bobby worked on the Cleveland Browns chain crew and their practices for nearly 30 years. He has served his colleagues and community as President of the Cleveland Touchdown Club and remains very involved at St. Francis DeSales, the Holy Family Cancer Home, and the Food Kitchen at the West Side Catholic Center. Bobby is a civil engineer from Villanova and Cleveland State University.

Joe Zilka Sr. played football and graduated from Avon High School and went on to play football and graduate from Western Reserve University in 1965. He started teaching in the Parma City School District and coached at the junior high and high school level. Joe Joined he CFOA in 1971 and served as the 1985 president. Between 1986 and 1988 Joe worked state playoff games and refereed the Coaches East-West All Star game He joined his son, Joe Jr. on Alan Pintner's crew for son Joe's first varsity game. Joe retired as middle school principal and from CFOA in 2008. He is married, father of three with six grandchildren.

Oh boy, here it comes!

It All Happened One Blustery Afternoon! Seen the entire rule book? I think I completed mine recently. On a recent Saturday afternoon, we ceremoniously strolled out to midfield with the captains for the toss. Introductions and formalities aside, the Referee, who shall remain nameless, asked the visiting captain for his choice, then flipped. With a mid-air snatch the coin disappeared. The captains and crew awaited the heads or tails revelation. No coin. The ref missed it; we all started looking around, without a sighting. The ref stepped back, still no coin. What the.....? Another step back and the coin reappeared from under the ref's shoe. Some sort of magic? Later, this editor interviewed the referee about the incident. He offered two excuses for the 'over the head flip'. "The coin was too light, the wind took it." I guess we should assess the suitability of our coins for the weather conditions! By the way, the visitors won the toss. Later in the same game, following a few series, the visitors scored a touchdown and conversion. The crew lined up for a routine kickoff. The ball was handed to the kicker, and the ready for play was sounded. No kicking tee! The kicker steps up and promptly launches a perfectly executed drop kick. First time in my 40+ seasons I have witnessed the use of a (legal) drop kick in a game. "Oh, the coach said, I forgot to tell you he can't place kick, so he uses the drop kick for kickoffs." The moral: every game, every play brings the possibility of something unseen. Be ready to respond with your knowledge and common sense of the game.

Eye on the action!

One line wisdoms and fundamentals Many, if not most, situations which require rulings or judgments on the field of play are specifically covered and guided by rule and mechanic interpretations. 'Cut and dried' calls and enforcements are part of our routine role and mode of operation during the game. However, almost every game presents a unique situation or enforcement which demands an 'on the spot' interpretation. Given some question or misunderstanding of the specific rule application, a lengthy deliberation is neither warranted nor desired. Short, quick guidelines are in order to speed our action and provide accurate outcomes. Some thoughts from the late Fred Heinlen: Know the line to gain, down, distance, ALWAYS Officiate without regard to score or game time Keep the game tempo Trust and support your crewmates Don’t take anything for granted Share your information Do what is fair for both teams.

Don’t Miss Ohio Stadium in ‘15 The 15th Ohio Football Officials Hospitality Room will host officials and their guests inside Ohio Stadium like last year. Ticket holders are welcome during all final games with free admission to the room during tournament finals on December 3rd, 4th and 5th. Visit us to enjoy the camaraderie, indoor comfort, prizes, and refreshments during the games with access to stadium seating. Join us to help make this year’s the most memorable gathering of all the years! Thanks to our Hospitality Committee: Ernie Johnson, Guy Bertram, and coordinators from the Central Officials Association.