| Kevin starts his 28th season as a PIAA football official. He started in 1996 only weeks after turning 19 years old. He also spent 3 years as a college football official (2006-2008) with the Pittsburgh chapter of the AEIFO. All 28 years have been spent with the Centre Counties Chapter (District 6) out of State College, PA. He has worked at every field in District 6 except for Conemaugh Valley, West Shamokin and River Valley. Kevin is currently not working Friday night varsity contests as his son is a Sophomore at Bucktail Area High School and a starting offensive guard. Kevin Does assist the coaching staff at Bucktail Area. The goal placed in front of Kevin is to introduce new rules, review old rules and promote the world of officiating. This column will be done in the image of the old ABC clips from the 1980’s called “You Make the Call.” He welcomes any and all questions about officiating, how to become certified or just general rules questions. He can be reached at kevinransom95@hotmail.com |
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 10
October 27, 2023
October 27th 2023 EDITION – 10.1 Week 10 of the PIAA Football Season is upon us. This means different things to different people. Some teams are anxious to end a season where they underperformed. Others are attempting to prepare for playoffs. Others are already looking forward to the work they need to put in during […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 9.2
October 20, 2023
October 29th 2023 EDITION – 9.2 Last night I was at a local Junior High Game. I was working in the concession stand. After the game a couple of the officials stopped by to grab a hotdog and Gatorade for the ride home. Because I am a friendly guy, I struck up a conversation with […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 9.1
October 17, 2023
October 17th 2023 EDITION – 9.1 I am in the middle of the 28th season as a PIAA football official. However, over the last two years I have not seen many snaps while in stripes. This is due to my son playing varsity football at the smallest public school in the state fielding a football […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 8
October 13, 2023
October 13th 2023 EDITION – 8 First things first; The Ransom Report is going to ask a favor of all our loyal readers. Tonight, when you are attending your local game please pause for a moment and look around. Engage all five of your senses and recognize just how lucky we are to be […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 7
October 6, 2023
October 6th 2023 EDITION – 7.2 I remember working on a crew with a gentleman named Bob Weller. He would remind as we traveled to our first game of the year that before we knew it we would be deep into the season, maybe even into playoffs. I was a young official at the time. […]
Rules of the Game- The Ransom Report – Special Edition
October 3, 2023
October 2nd 2023 EDITION – 7.1 Throughout any given season a football official will take upwards of 3000-4000 snaps. During all those snaps they are bound to see some odd things happen. After 27 years, I could write a book about the strange plays that I have had to rule on. Today, we are […]
The Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 6.2
September 29, 2023
September 29th 2023 EDITION – 6.2 Get excited……. Week 6 is here!!! I just learned that “The Rules of the Game” has reached as far as Seattle Washington. The Pacific Northwest is some beautiful country. Visit sometime if you get the chance! This past Monday I received an email asking about helmets coming off […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Special Edition
September 26, 2023
September 26th 2023 EDITION – 6.1 Week 6 of the PIAA Football season is upon us. This is the time of season that things start getting very exciting. The best teams start to separate themselves and the good teams start fighting for playoff spots. At this point, if you have watched any football, you […]
The Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 5
September 22, 2023
September 22nd 2023 EDITION – 5.2 Week 5 of the PIAA football season is here……..time to figure out if your team is playoff bound! I have always appreciated the game of football. The rules of the game are part of that appreciation. This closer look into the rules through education has been very enjoyable […]
You Make The Call – The Ransom Report – Special Edition
September 19, 2023
EDITION – 5.1 Week 5 of the PIAA football season is approaching, which means the regular season is half over. It is a very exciting time to be a fan of high school football. This weekly article has caught the attention of a couple readers. One of those readers has asked me to take a […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 4
September 15, 2023
September 15th 2023 EDITION – 4 Before diving into this week’s discussion, it would be wrong to not mention the well-publicized injuries that have occurred on the high school football field over the last 2 weeks. One of those injuries hit close to this writer. It has proven to be a stark reminder that these […]
Rules of the Game – The Ransom Report – Edition 3
September 8, 2023
September 8th 2023 EDITION – 3 Week 3 of the PIAA football season is upon us; blink and we will be talking playoffs. I hope that you found last weeks edition to be easy to understand and educational. Although the High School Football Rules Book is not always the easiest thing to understand, I […]
Rules of the Game: The Ransom report – Edition 2
September 1, 2023
September 1st 2023 EDITION – 2 Week 2 of the PIAA football season is upon us; and with that comes the second edition of the Ransom Report. If you have ever opened the PIAA rules book (or case book) you probably noticed that the language used is a bit different than how you might discuss […]
Rules of the Game: The Ransom report – Edition 1
August 25, 2023
Rules of the Game: The Ransom report – Edition 1 Welcome to “Rules of the Game” My name is Kevin Ransom and throughout the 2023 football season it is my hope to introduce the average high school football fan to the complexities of the PIAA Rules Book. It is possible that you will find this […]
