Wellston / Officiating / OHSAA

[buckeye_nut]

EVERY school that has played more than one game has a story about their visit to Wellston stadium. The fact is that over the past 50 years there has been many teams come to play, and many teams leave scratching their heads. I have seen at 15 or 20 games over the years at many different levels with different schools. It doesnt matter what level it is, it is the same. Back to the Highschool level, it is time for the OHSAA to step in and do something with this. Im not just talking about what it does to the visiting team, but it was against BOTH teams last night. Neither team could get any rythm, its not fairto the kids, and its not fair to the GAME!!! My unofficial count was 31 penalties for around 300 yards last night. Protect the game OSHAA, protect our kids OHSAA!!...Thoughts?

[NY BUCKS]

IF you read the NY wellston thread 10 hrs before the game I told everybody what would happen...Its a shame NOBODY can get a fair game at wellston....IT happens with NY EVERYTIME WE VISIT WELLSTON.......plus rocks thrown into the bleachers.......

[bird78]

TYPICAL WELLSTON.....remember one year a brick was thrown at a MAJORETTE........

[thechosenone]

FIRST im from wellston lol.

I gotta agree last night was horrible. BUT nelsonville fans cannot complain. BOTH teams had all kinds of calls against them. So it was'nt just the buckeyes.

As far as rocks being thrown thats bullcrap and should not happen. Just a bunch of young punks. But i can remember being up at nelsonville and having stuff thrown even in the parking lot lol. NOt saying every one does this thou.

[farmer]

With this being well known at Wellston the main question is what is Wellston going to do about it? That also includes the rock throwing. Also if it is known to be problems at NY then what are they going to do? Identify the problems. Especially if it involves safety not just for those on the field but off.

Not everything can be blamed on officiating. Even though some of the time it can be bad calls. If it is a bad crew then do not have them back. Also if they are throwing rocks at the other fans are they throwing things at the refs?

[Rvbballdude]

Remember it's Wellston, just to reflect we were at a Jr High Basketball game and a student at Wellston was officiating he T'd up his teacher. lol

[coop]

Remember it's Wellston, just to reflect we were at a Jr High Basketball game and a student at Wellston was officiating he T'd up his teacher. lol

I'm sorry...but this is awesome. haha

[bengalfan76]

That young man is a very good official

[ACCBiggz]

I posted this in the game thread earlier today, but I'll repost it here.

Allow me to get on my soapbox here for a moment...

In interest of full disclosure, I was not at this game so I cannot speak on specifics.

First, let me say that this isn't about NY-Wellston or its fans, but an issue statewide. The Nelsonville fans can claim its always been a problem, but I've heard the same thing for years from the SE Ohio area about Nelsonville, Jackson, Gallia, Ironton, Timbuktu, etc. etc. etc. Essentially every away team claims the refs are homers at every game. With the schools hiring the officials the onus is on them to pick qualified people. That I'll agree on, but just because they are bad referees doesn't mean they are homers. That is highlighted by the fact that both teams were heavily penalized, so when I see posts like "If we can't beat ya we're gonna cheat ya" I simply have to laugh. If that were the case wouldn't the penalties be lopsided? The penalty stats, and score, don't back the statements.

Secondly, while you may feel they were bad calls (and I have to take your word for it as I wasn't there) nothing can be done without bringing tape to the OHSAA. Without video proof they can't take anyone's word on the subject. Also, over the years I've been to many games where I have not had a rooting interest and nearly fall on the ground laughing at the crowds. I'll see a penalty, see the flag, hear the boo's and then inevitably hear someone yell, "We can't beat the refs too!" on a totally justified call. It happens at EVERY. GAME. I die laughing. On the flip side, I've seen some atrocious calls as well. At the high school level flags are to be expected, but some officials "let them play". However, by rule a lot of these flags are right. A lot of the issue comes to refs who are too "by the book" and some who are too forgiving and allow a lot to go on.

Lastly, it's the high school level. Referees are volunteers who get certified, etc. to go out on Friday night and officiate. Not every single referee is going to be good. Too many schools for the level to remain high. Should the OHSAA continue to seek ways to educate and license officials? Absolutely. But in order to show the OHSAA the problems you need documented proof, on video, and probably good suggestions on how to solve the issue. It takes money and time to do all of this and that is resources they probably do not have. It's just a sad truth.

Fast Edit: Also, this isn't just a football issue. I've seen and heard it all at basketball, softball, baseball, volleyball, etc. games. As above, far too many schools/games for their to be a wealth of "good' officials. Going to have some lackluster officiating at this level. It's a numbers game.

[madpolecat]

Most HS officials try hard, but they just aren't great. They are part-time guys who love the game.

Fact of life. People just notice the calls that go against their team.

[G.W.A.]

Most HS officials try hard, but they just aren't great. They are part-time guys who love the game.

Fact of life. People just notice the calls that go against their team.

Very true statement. Football officials are just bad in our area. As for basketball, the TVC has always been a homer league. Nobody won at miller back in 89 90 91 timeframe. Always hard to get a call faceing a scared ref if Howie was the home coach at either southern or eastern. wellston has always been a place to get homered and now Wahama is probley the worst place to take one.

[Dundas]

Most HS officials try hard, but they just aren't great. They are part-time guys who love the game.

Fact of life. People just notice the calls that go against their team.

Very true statement. Football officials are just bad in our area. As for basketball, the TVC has always been a homer league. Nobody won at miller back in 89 90 91 timeframe. Always hard to get a call faceing a scared ref if Howie was the home coach at either southern or eastern. wellston has always been a place to get homered and now Wahama is probley the worst place to take one.

Vinton County won at Miller 2 of 3 in they time frame. Lol but I agree. Wellston is a very hard place to win at in basketball.

[Rocket Proud]

Chicken Coop---Nelsonville complaining about homer officiating is like Colonel Sanders complaining about fried chicken.
If you remember the first calls were against Wellston. It was a tightly called game on both sides. I hope both the buckeye that was injured and rocket kicker recover soon. It was a hard fought game that you won. You thought was going to be a blowout and when it was not you and your fellow Buckeyes became frutstrated.

[Orange and Brown]

Anyone who has ever played at Wellston agrees that it is an awful place to play. We get rocks thrown at us and the police and school officials don't care, They hire the worst crew possible to officiate. It is a joke, I would be ashamed if I were from Wellston.

[Amarranavajas]

Anyone who has ever played at Wellston agrees that it is an awful place to play. We get rocks thrown at us and the police and school officials don't care, They hire the worst crew possible to officiate. It is a joke, I would be ashamed if I were from Wellston.

And that is why they are known as the armpit of every league they have ever been a part of. At least when you go there you bring a huge crowd cause you never know, no matter how bad they are, if you are going to win or not. It all depends on how bad the refs cheat. So there is a lot of suspense.

[NYF]

plz let this die, it's over. Let's move on. Both schools were punished by this crew. Nothing can be done now. Lets move on ppl.

[NewEra]

Remember it's Wellston, just to reflect we were at a Jr High Basketball game and a student at Wellston was officiating he T'd up his teacher. lol

I'm sorry...but this is awesome. haha

Hahaha That's great!

[Steegal]

I remember a basketball game at Wellston one year when Howie's team got cheated off the floor. They even called one on Howie for stomping I think. Eastern was 20-30 points better, but it ended up being a close game due to the officiating. But Howie got them back the next time they came to Eastern when he had his favorite crew in to do the game. The Wellston people needed their crying towels that night. :12224

[Rocketfan88]

I remember a basketball game at Wellston one year when Howie's team got cheated off the floor. They even called one on Howie for stomping I think. Eastern was 20-30 points better, but it ended up being a close game due to the officiating. But Howie got them back the next time they came to Eastern when he had his favorite crew in to do the game. The Wellston people needed their crying towels that night. :12224

You probaly have been waiting a long time to get that dig in there. lol! Glad you could get that off your chest buddy. Maybe you will sleep better!

[Steegal]

I remember a basketball game at Wellston one year when Howie's team got cheated off the floor. They even called one on Howie for stomping I think. Eastern was 20-30 points better, but it ended up being a close game due to the officiating. But Howie got them back the next time they came to Eastern when he had his favorite crew in to do the game. The Wellston people needed their crying towels that night. :12224

You probaly have been waiting a long time to get that dig in there. lol! Glad you could get that off your chest buddy. Maybe you will sleep better!

On the contrary, I have told that story, and others about how bad the refs were in that old stage over the years. This was just ANOTHER chance to get it in. :12224