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The story I'm about to tell you is full of passion.
It is about a moment a lot of people would like to have back - a blown call in a high school football playoff game.
The call - which, due to indisputable video evidence, everyone agrees was missed - cost Monroe High a third-quarter touchdown Friday. Monroe ultimately lost, 17-14, to West Montgomery to end a previously undefeated season in which a state championship had seemed possible.
What I'd like to ask you, while you're reading this story, is for a bit of compassion during this Thanksgiving week.
Compassion for the players at Monroe High. Compassion for the team's coaches and fans. And compassion for the official, an 18-year veteran of high-school refereeing, who made the erroneous call. After seeing the replay on TV, he owned up to his mistake and apologized to Monroe's athletic director and the school via e-mail for making it.
What happened: With the score tied at 14, late in the third quarter, Monroe's quarterback threw a 16-yard pass to the back of the end zone to Issac Blakeney, a talented receiver who has verbally committed to Duke.
WBTV sports anchor/reporter Danielle Trotta, camera on her shoulder, was perfectly positioned to film the play. Her replay clearly shows Blakeney catching the ball and tapping both of his feet in-bounds. When Trotta broadcast that replay on WBTV's highlight show "Football Friday Night" and correctly said it should have been a touchdown, a small firestorm ignited in Monroe.
Immediately after Blakeney's catch, the official waved off the reception. He called the pass incomplete because he thought Blakeney had stepped out of bounds before controlling the ball.
Monroe would never score again, although it had several chances in the fourth quarter to do so. West Montgomery kicked a late field goal to pull the road upset and spoil what had been a 12-0 season for Monroe (ranked No.7 in The Observer's Sweet 16 last week).
"Obviously, everybody was upset," said Monroe head football coach Johnny Sowell, who is also the basketball and track coach at the 1AA school. "But we're a family. We coaches had to be strong. We had to tell the players that a lot of things in life are not fair sometimes, and we just don't know why. We don't want to teach anger here. That's not our style. That official is a human being, just like we are. And we all make mistakes."
I'm not naming the official in this story, although I know his name, and have spoken to him twice. He did not want to comment on the record for the story. I have no interest in causing him more trouble. He is very remorseful for what he did. He sounds like a man of integrity.
This official, a back judge, has worked state football championship games before. He was pulled off another game he was supposed to officiate Saturday night. He has not been suspended, but he wasn't scheduled to officiate any more playoff games this year anyway.
There is no recourse for Monroe, however, besides knowing the call should have been a touchdown.
"We don't suspend officials for judgment calls," said Mark Dreibelbis, supervisor of officials for the N.C. High School Athletic Association. "That would be a terrible precedent. This was a judgment call, and the call was in error. But the officials' rulings on the field always stand.
"We don't ever go back and change the outcome of the game. This official - I've talked with him and no one feels worse than he does. He's a top-flight official for us, but he missed it. If you've ever worn the stripes or held a whistle, you don't sleep well after something like this."
Sports are messy. On nearly every play in an athletic contest, somebody does something wrong.
Yet we expect officials to be perfect. We get mad when they're not. And they're not, even in college and pro contests where they have access to instant replay. The ACC and SEC have both issued apologies for officiating mistakes this season. Umpires made - and missed - controversial calls in nearly every game of this year's World Series.
High school football officials have no instant-replay backstop. They make dozens of split-second decisions, take fans' and coaches' guff for doing so, and get paid $70 a game ($80 in the playoffs). They don't get any gas or meal money, either. The pay often works out to about $12-15 per hour when you include travel time. Officials frequently ride together to games to save money.
I have no idea why anyone wants to officiate high-school games, but fortunately they do.
Under the NCHSAA umbrella, Bill Freeman is the booking agent for 20-25 high school football games a week. Freeman assigns officials to all the high school games in Charlotte-Mecklenburg as well as surrounding areas.
Freeman said his experience with the official who missed the call has been "good."
"He's been working for us for 18 years, with no previous problems at all," Freeman said. "Needless to say, that wasn't the case Friday night."
Said Monroe coach Sowell, whose son is the quarterback who threw the pass that should have been a TD: "It hurts us. But a lot of other people are hurting, too - including that official."
Monroe athletic director Doug Jones saw the play live from the sideline and was sure it was a TD. He has walked a fine line over the past few days, sympathizing with his players' and parents' concerns and anger, but also gently telling them that it's over. The game won't be replayed.
Jones is right. Despite the pain, everyone has to move on.
Monroe's players and fans may never forget this error.
But they need to forgive it.
As Jones said: "Nothing can be done. They've told us, 'I'm sorry.' It's time to get ready for basketball and wrestling."
