Shrine Bowl special for officals, too

Roy Smith, a captain with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, will trade in his law enforcement uniform for another position of authority Saturday.
Smith, entering his 28th year of officiating area football and basketball games, will be in Topeka Saturday for the 2013 Kansas Shrine Bowl, pitting high school football stars from across the state.
The 40th annual Shrine Bowl will kick off at 7 p.m. at Washburn University’s Yager Stadium. Tickets and additional information are available at www.kansasshrinebowl.com, or by calling (800) 530-5524.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing this,” Smith said. “It’s something I can do to help give back to the kids.”
The officiating crew for the Shrine Bowl, like most of the other game organizers, work on a strictly voluntary basis. Smith gladly pays his own way to get to the game.
“I try to talk to a couple of local kids who may have been able to use the Shriners’ services,” Smith said. “It’s a good time for everybody.”
All Shrine Bowl events benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children, a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of youngsters by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research and teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to 18 are eligible for care and receive services in a family-centered environment, regardless of their ability to pay.
Temperatures for Saturday’s game are expected to be in the 80s, a far cry from Smith’s first ever Shrine Bowl game, a game in Manhattan in which the temperature at kickoff was 107.

SMITH WILL suit up as a line judge, who begins each play by looking for possible offsides, encroachment or other penaltlies along the line of scrimmage.
Once the ball is snapped, his duties change, by watching receivers near the sideline, and to determine if passes are forward, lateral or if it is illegally thrown beyond the line of scrimmage.
Smith has handled the duties of each of the seven officiating crew positions through his career.
He also will serve as a line judge on most Friday nights in the fall once the high school season opens.

AMONG THE high school all-stars participating in the Shrine Bowl are Crest High graduate Kyle Hammond, a four-year star with the Lancers in both football and basketball, Chanute’s Cody Howell, Spencer Bernhardt of Pittsburg and Justice Baird of Neodesha. All will be on the East squad, as will coach Criss Davis of Caney Valley.