Be the Referee: Tourney Selection
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
November 18, 2021
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Tourney Selection - Listen
Today we are going to talk about how officials are selected for the MHSAA Football Playoffs. Just as the best teams advance in the tournament week after week, the best officiating crews advance in the tournament in much the same way.
For a crew to be eligible for assignment, many requirements have to be met prior to the season – submission of their season schedule, making sure that the crew has completed the annual rules meeting, as well as a football rules test. Much weight is given to ratings – each crew is rated by schools following each game as well as observation reports where officiating experts go out and either watch crews work live or on video in making sure that the best crews advance throughout the tournament.
Previous editions
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone – Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block – Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal – Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short – Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction – Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch – Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
Flashback 100: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run
November 8, 2024
The MHSAA 11-player Football Playoffs have awarded 332 Finals champions over their first 49 seasons, and the total will grow by eight later this month.
However, only 22 of those titles have been claimed by teams from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And of those, just one came in the state’s largest division.
That honor belongs to Escanaba, which won the Class A title in 1981, marking the first and only time a U.P. team has claimed the crown in either Division 1, Class A, or Class AA.
The 1981 Escanaba team, coached by the legendary Jerry Cvengros – who would later be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame – was led by Kevin Tapani. A dynamic two-way player, Tapani starred at both quarterback and safety. The Eskymos finished the season undefeated at 12-0, outscoring opponents by a combined 345-67. They shut out six opponents and defeated Fraser 16-6 in the title game at the Pontiac Silverdome.
While Tapani excelled in football, his true passion was baseball. He was a standout in high school and went on to become a four-year starting pitcher at Central Michigan University. In 1986, Tapani was selected by the Oakland A’s in the second round of the MLB Draft. He went on to enjoy a successful 13-year career in the majors, earning a 143-125 record, with a 16-9 season in 1991 when he helped lead the Minnesota Twins to a World Series title.
In recognition of his athletic achievements, Tapani was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and named one of the Minnesota Twins' 50 all-time greatest players.
The 22 U.P. teams to win an MHSAA 11-player football championship:
1975 – Ishpeming – Class C
1975 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1976 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1979 – Ishpeming – Class C
1979 – Norway – Class D
1980 – Munising – Class C
1980 – Norway – Class D
1981 – Escanaba – Class A
1983 – St. Ignace – Class D
1992 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class DD
1993 – Kingsford – Class B
1993 – Iron Mountain – Class C
1997 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class D
1998 – Menominee – Class BB
2000 – Iron Mountain – Division 7
2002 – Negaunee – Division 6
2006 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Crysal Falls Forest Park – Division 8
2012 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2013 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2015 – Ishpeming – Division 7
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 1: Flashback 100: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba's 1981 Class A championship team, Tapani is in the second row, fourth from the right (#18). (Middle) Kevin Tapani from his Escanaba Wall of Fame Plaque. (Photos courtesy of Escanaba High School, and the MHSAA archives.)