By the time junior tight end Stephen Dayton gets home after a Thursday night game, he has a mountain of work facing him. 

“I was probably up until one in the morning doing homework,” Dayton said. “It’s so physically exerting, [and] hard to get up for school.”

Ref shortages, which began during the 2021-22 season, have persisted into the start of this season. The issue has led to a sizable amount of games being scheduled for Thursday nights, affecting players’ performance in school.

“[I’m] not doing any school work until after the game,” senior offensive lineman AJ Burton said. “So not very much homework will be done.”

For most players, games during the week can affect their ability to stay on top of all of their homework and adequately prepare for tests over the next few days.

“It’s hard to really lock in on school especially when you have a game on Thursday,” Burton said.

“Having to play [a game] on a Thursday doesn’t feel the same,” Dayton said.

Leading up to a game, the team is focused on preparing to win, and warming up for the game which takes up most of their day.

“We’re expected to watch film, go over [the] playbook, and do all that we have so many responsibilities outside of practice that have to do with football,” Burton said.

Recovery and getting a post-game meal cause most of these players to have a long night of studying and preparing for tests on Friday.

“I don’t get home until like 10:30,” Burton said.

Coaches have also had to adapt the way they coach depending on the experience of the referee staff for each game. With a reduced number of referees, calling a tight game becomes challenging.

“There’s always going to be calls missed or things of that nature,” outside linebacker coach Mike Luhring said.

Referees have seen a slight decline over the past few years, especially encouraged by COVID-19.

“A lot of [retirements] had to do with COVID. So with older membership, a lot of [refs had] the opportunity to go ahead and retire. We’ve had a lot of accelerated retirements,” veteran rule regulator George Demetriou said.

Fixing the ref shortage is critical for the continuation of youth sports. CESA, the Colorado Employment Security Act, has significantly increased pay for its officials, which has helped in the recruitment process.

“The weaker the economy, the easier it is to recruit officials because more people are interested in making extra money.“ Demetriou said.

Referees are an essential part of the game and replenishing the number of them is an essential process for CHSAA.

“You get a lot of old refs who are really experienced and some refs where it’s their first year ever reffing,” Burton said. “[But] if we didn’t have refs we wouldn’t be able to play at all.