referee shortage
Sierra Mike

Thirteenth year head coach for Truckee Football, Josh Ivens, has won 100 games in coaching career with Truckee as the Wolverines defeated the Sparks Railroaders tonight. 

The game was originally schedule for tomorrow, Friday October 16th, but due to referee and official shortages, the teams rescheduled to tonight. 

Tony Krilik, a former 35-year official and now current commissioner of Northern Nevada High School football tell us, this is not a new issue and has been a problem for a long time. 

With 75 members currently in the NNFOA (Northern Nevada Football Officials Association), they can only cover around 10 games any given Friday due to them mainly operating with 5–6-man crews. 

These shortages have caused games to be rescheduled and in tonight's case, these two division 3A league rivals met for a Thursday night matchup. 

Coach Ivens touched on what preparation during a short week is like, 

"We're at the stage in the season, luckily, where, a lot of our schemes are in. It's just a lot of review each week. Maybe the game plan is not as elaborate as if you had a full week. You know, we're more sticking things we did last week."

Even with the shortage and rescheduling, Ivens touched on the importance of these league matchups, 

"Every league game matters. And this is an important game; we got to take care of business tonight. Put us in the best position to not only play, playoff game, but to host a playoff game, which is going to be big."

We asked him about his emotions reaching a milestone 100th victory, especially on a shorter prep week and against a division rival.

"If you would have told me, you know, when I first started in 2013, that I'd be close to 100 wins. I wouldn't have believed it..."

Resiliency, toughness and everything needed to win 100 games. A great testament to Truckee football. And if you or anyone you know is interested in becoming an official for Northern Nevada high school sports, there is a link to apply on our website.Â