How about Seymour's photographer?! Good stuff!
Look, this was a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved in this game (players, coaches, fans, referees). The referee who was scheduled to do the center for this game "called in sick". All I can do is trust that this was the case and assume he couldn't even get out of bed. That being said, I personally have never seen another high school sport, other than soccer, where the game can take place as normal with one less official. In all honesty, especially at the high school level, soccer struggles with just 3 referees (they have to cover a lot of ground). I do not have the solution to this problem. But I will say this: we have come to accept the 2 referee system as a normal aspect of the season - especially in the outlying areas. I wonder what would happen in the "District of Death" if a referee "called in sick"?
As you can tell from the photo, the ball is obviously across the line. During the game, the referee who was working that half of the field, was standing closer to the half line than the goal line. He initially called it a goal - and a Morristown-West defender even picked up the ball and punted to half field in disgust of the goal. Then, all of the sudden, the referee made his way toward the goal line to look at (where he thought the ball was? I really don't know what he was doing.) He then had a brief discussion with ref #2 who was on the other half of the field, and restarted play with a drop-ball.
As for the disputed Morristown-West goal: I have not been able to see the video yet, as youtube is blocked where I am. Watching live, I could not judge for myself as to whether or not the ball crossed the line. The referee told our captain after the game that he (the referee) was wrong.
As I said, this is an unfortunate situation, especially for the players. Both sides were trying to play their game, and play it to the best of their abilities, and unfortunately they were having to deal with this circumstance at the same time. Coach Bradley and his coaches and players are a class act and I am not forgetting that they had to deal with the situation just as we did. It is just unfortunate that the result of the game was decided in this manner.
And I know it's coming, so I'll go ahead and address it: I know these referees have a thankless job and there are not enough of them in the area. It is a job that I probably would not like and I see how tough it can be for them. But when a group of young men work their butts off for something and feel like they get it taken away from them, it's a hard pill to swallow. I'm not trying to ridicule anyone in this situation, I just think it should be addressed in some manner (especially given the evidence). Again, I don't have the solution to the problem, but in the future, I will avoid having only 2 refs at all costs.