James Arnold, GHSA official
Today’s interviewee is James Arnold, who is in his 40th season as a GHSA official. Arnold is the GHSA officials training coordinator and the assigner for the Etowah Football Association in Cartersville. Arnold is the co-designer and supervisor of the GHSA’s video review protocols used in the state finals. Arnold no longer works games on the field but will be watching as many as six games via live stream Friday night helping evaluate crews.
1. What's it like for officials when the playoffs start? Or is it just another game? “They’re excited to be chosen, and, no, not just another game. Officials know it’s win or stay home next week for the teams. Also, the crews are different than most regular-season crews. The prep is the same. It’s just different people on crews together. It’s a business meeting with different people. They have Zoom calls, scouting reports, test, pregame assignments during the week. Then there’s travel plans and pregame meeting at game site. It’s a lot of prep for each week.”
2. How are officials chosen for the playoffs? What percentage of officials are qualified for the playoffs? “About 45% of the total registered officials qualify for the playoffs. The games are assigned to the associations by the GHSA. The local associations assign officials to the assigned games from their list of playoff-qualified officials.
“The numbers of games each association gets works like this: For weeks one and two, the GHSA assigns games to associations by how many playoff-eligible officials they have available. Travel factors in, and no association can work a school that they have on their home schedule during the regular season.
“For week three, the GHSA assigns games to associations by a ratio of eligible playoff officials in their association versus the number of games in round three. There are 32 total games, so the top association gets three games, the next bracket gets two, the next bracket gets one. The bottom four are put on two mixed crews of the four bottom groups.
“The top evaluated crews from week three work week four, and the top evaluated crews from week four work week five [the eight championship games].”
3. For years now, we have heard of the officials shortage in high school sports, often with too many games on Friday nights, necessitating moving them to Thursday and Saturday to have enough officials. What's the state of things now? Has it improved? “A couple of things here. The GHSA and the local associations have done a good job of getting more officials eligible for playoffs the last couple of years. There is a long list of things you must do to be eligible. But yes, there is still a shortage. It's on an uptick, but we need many more officials. We have all had to move games to Thursday or Saturday to cover regular-season games, and this shortage will continue. Our average age of a football official is still mid 50s, so people will continue to age out, retire, every year.” [Arnold notes that there are enough playoff-eligible officials this year to schedule all games for Friday. In recent years, two classifications have been played their first-round games Saturday to ensure enough qualified officials.]
4. What's your best memory of calling a playoff game? “Too many to pick out one. There were games that were exciting, the back-and-forth shootouts. There are the big games, championship games, one final we worked that went to overtime. But the older I get, the playoff games that mean the most are the games with people that have retired or we have lost. Earl Wilkerson and Butch King are two that have passed away. Then Haywood Patton, Mike '6' Jenkins, Roger Deberry and Jody Gonzales retired. All really good officials that helped me be better.
“It’s weird, but the game that stands out was a Saturday third-round game moved from Friday to a neutral location, to Oconee County, because of seating requirements in the 1990s. The teams were single A, and the GHSA was worried about a fight. I don’t remember why. The GHSA sent Larry Campbell to come talk to both teams before the game, and he brought Ray Goff with him, right after he had been fired by Georgia. The game wasn't great, but it was warm, and it was a lot of fun working with Earl, Haywood, Roger and Jody, and it was the first time I ever ate at Zaxby’s. That reminds me I need to call Haywood. I haven't talked to him in a long time.” [Goff, the former Georgia football coach and now an Oconee County resident, owns or co-owns about 40 Zaxby’s restaurants, although not the one in Watkinsville where Arnold ate. But Goff told Arnold and his crew that he would’ve paid for their meals if he’d known they were going there. Zaxby’s founders Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley were former Oconee County football players. Arnold couldn't recall the teams from this game, but some GHSFHA sleuth work Tuesday led to a game between Athens Academy and Clinch County in 2001. Clinch County won 14-10 without incident.]
