Tough winter for refs

Wednesday's boys' soccer match between Aragon and Westmoor at Gellert Park in Daly City was one of the best officiated matches I've seen this winter -- encompassing soccer and basketball. Given the gravity of the situation -- the winner earned the Peninsula Athletic League's Ocean Division title and the automatic Central Coast Section berth that comes with it -- the center referee let the game be decided on the field. Granted, there were a couple of close no calls, but I applaud him for keeping his whistle in his pocket, as the saying goes, and letting the players decide the outcome. Unless it was an egregious, no-doubt-about-it foul, the referee let them play on. Unfortunately, well officiated basketball and soccer games have been few and far between this winter. I usually don't like to take high school officials to task because they're doing a job no one else wants to do and I usually try to defend them as often as possible. Officiating -- on any level -- is as thankless a job as there is. Half the crowd boos every call you make and if you do a good job, you go unnoticed. Having served in the media for as long as I have and having watched hundreds, if not thousands, of games, I have a new respect for officials after seeing and hearing how fans treat them. You can be sure I don't harass any official -- any more -- whenever I'm at an event as a fan. This winter, however, there have been a number of games I've attended that made me laugh and shake my head. Bad calls, or worse, no calls, or inconsistent officiating has ruined perfectly good, exciting games during the basketball and soccer seasons. Two, in particular, stand out in my mind and they've both occurred in the last week. In a girls' basketball game Friday, a player was essentially awarded a five-point play. She hit a 3-pointer -- but was not fouled. The whistle was blown for a foul under the basket, however, and the official sent the girl who made the 3-pointer to the free-throw line to shoot 1-and-1. She made both. Considering the outcome was decided by two points on a buzzer beater, the gaffe made earlier made a difference. The winning team captured a division championship with the victory. In a girls' soccer game Tuesday, a player appeared to be taken down in the penalty box. Whether their legs got tangled or there was a legit foul, I'm not sure. What I do know is that the ref was going to let the play go on -- the ball rolled out and was going to be a goal kick -- until the center ref saw the linesman's flag raised. After a short conversation, the center ref pointed to the penalty spot for a penalty kick. Later in the game, the same player was taken down in the middle of the field, no call. Another was kicked in the foot and again, no call. Now I know some people will say a foul is a foul, but in the game of soccer, the rules can be a little fuzzy. But in soccer, unlike any other sport, the center referee has final say on all calls. Even if the linesmen, or assistant referees as they are now called, believes a foul has occurred, the center referee doesn't have to take him or her at their word. It's the center ref's decision to make. These are just the most recent examples. I've seen dozens of eyebrow-raising calls and non calls this winter. All I'm saying is that given the stakes involved in these two games, the officials should be damn sure they're making the right call. Not that they shouldn't be doing that at all times, it's just disappointing to see crucial games being impacted by the officials and not the players on the field or court. *** Evan Jones is the classic example of a late bloomer. The Trinity University-San Antonio first baseman was a part-time player during his time at Serra, but he did enough there, as well as during the summer and at showcase events to catch the eyes of the Trinity coaching staff. Now a senior with the Division III Tigers, Jones is a legitimate threat at the plate. Tuesday, he was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference player of week. In four games, Jones went 10 for 13 at the plate with a homer, two doubles, seven RBI, four runs scored and six walks. He hit .769, had a slugging percentage of 1.285 and an on-base percentage of .842. In Trinity's doubleheader sweep of Austin, Jones was 5 for 5 with four walks, five RBI and four runs scored. Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.