Archives > Casa Grande Dispatch > Sports

Officiating Notre Dame-USC game dream come true for CG's Kieser

By ED PETRUSKA
Sports Editor

Published: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:53 AM MST

Like millions of Americans, Casa Grande resident Kevin Kieser watched a football game on Saturday.

His perspective was much more intimate than that of most viewers, given he literally was on the field ... in South Bend, Ind., no less, for one of the nation’s premier rivalries.

Those who tuned in to the Notre Dame-USC game on NBC may have caught a few glimpses of Kieser, who was part of the officiating crew. The outcome, a 34-27 USC victory, wasn’t decided until the final play.

“It’s what college football is all about,” said Kieser, who was the field judge. “There’s so much history there.”

To be able to be a small part of it was a dream come true for Kieser, a physical education teacher at Casa Grande Middle School who has been a Pac-10 Conference official since 2004.

“Just walking down the tunnel (prior to kickoff) is something else,” Kieser said. “The band was lined up on both sides all the way to the locker room and they were blasting out the Notre Dame fight song” as the USC players walked between them preparing to take the field.

The sidelines in historic Notre Dame Stadium were overflowing with coaches, players, ex-players, celebrities, recruits, police and security personnel, chain crews, ballboys and others.

“So many people,” said Kieser, who is positioned 20 yards downfield along the sideline and focuses primarily on receivers and defensive backs. “We’re backpedaling the whole time, and I was never so worried about running into people.”

Kieser signaled a Notre Dame touchdown in the third quarter that was confirmed by Big East officials in the replay booth. TV analyst Pat Haden noted “the field judge was right there” without mentioning Kieser’s name after Golden Tate tumbled into the end zone to complete the 45-yard pass.

He also threw three flags, each for a USC personal foul. Two were on two-time All-America safety Taylor Mays and the other came against defensive end Armond Armstead. Coincidentally, Kieser’s father, Bruce, and his 13-year-old son Kainan were sitting next to Mays’ mother in the stands.

Kieser also helped confirm a Notre Dame no-catch in the end zone on the game’s third-to-last play.

Officiating a game at Notre Dame “is the pinnacle of my officiating career,” said Kieser, who has also fulfilled aspirations of working games in the Rose Bowl and Los Angeles Coliseum. He would love to officiate a game at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium, where he saw upwards of 20 games as a spectator while growing up, but that won’t happen as long as he’s a Pac-10 official.

If his evaluations hold up, Kieser is in line to be assigned to do a bowl game for the first time.

Sharing the Notre Dame experience with his dad and son was extra special for Kieser. He and Kainan spent last week before the game visiting relatives in and near the Mississippi River town of Prairie du Chein, Wis., where Kieser was raised. Bruce Kieser, boys basketball coach at Casa Grande High School from 1981-95, flew into Chicago on Friday.

Bruce and Kainan toured the Notre Dame locker room and got to stand on the field before the game, and the Kiesers toured the picturesque campus on Sunday before flying back to Phoenix.

Kevin Kieser never played football, but he quickly took to officiating after starting at the high school level in 1987. The former collegiate track athlete did junior college games from 1992-2000 and worked for the Big Sky Conference from 2001-03 before being hired by the Pac-10.

This is the first year the Pac-10 has given him a full slate of games. Next week, Kieser will work the Arizona State at Stanford game, followed by Arizona at California, UCLA at ASU and Oregon State at Oregon.

A fanatical student of the game, Kieser is obsessed with making the correct call.

“I’ll watch three or four (college) games on Sunday that I’ve TiVoed, and I meet every week with other officials to discuss plays and situations and how we can get better,” he said.

There were several plays in Saturday’s game that underwent video review. That didn’t bother Kieser.

“Contrary to popular belief, we (officials) all like replay because we want to get it right,” he said.

One of Kieser’s most memorable calls came in the 2007 Oregon-Cal game at Oregon. With less than a minute remaining, an Oregon player fumbled into the end zone. Kieser ruled the ball continued out of the end zone, resulting in Cal gaining possession on a touchback.

“If Oregon scores, they win the ballgame,” Kieser said.

As it turned out, his split-second call was correct, confirmed by the replay booth.

Kieser said he averages less than two penalty flags per game.

“I’ve had two games this season where I haven’t even thrown one,” he said. “I have a lot of communication with the players so I don’t have to throw a flag.”

Article Rating (4 * = highest)

Reader Comments

Submit a Comment