Haskell’s helping hands

Support staffs make sure Friday nights happen without a hitch

If you attend a Friday night high school football game at Haskell Stadium, you’re probably used to seeing the Murphy brothers make highlight-reel plays for Free State High.

Or maybe you’re used to seeing Lawrence High run the ball down the other team’s throat. Either way, this represents exciting action from the game – on the field.

What you might not realize is a football game doesn’t take place without a dedicated staff of about 25 workers. Most of the people stem from the school’s faculty.

It’s what these workers do off the field that makes Friday night football in Lawrence a success.

Free State will set aside approximately $12,000 to play at Haskell this season. Athletic director Steve Grant said the school paid $3,000 per game to rent the facility. That includes the 25 workers who are needed to put on a game. They are get paid $10 an hour, at an average of three hours per game.

The list of crucial support positions at high school football games is a long one: ticket sellers, ticket takers, supervisors, a public announcement representative, a clock manager, camera staff, spotters, chains crew, the marching band, concessions, referees, crowd control personnel, Lawrence police department personnel, the School Resource Officer and an on-site ambulance.

That’s right. Before the game even starts and before a player ever hits the gridiron, an ambulance is required.

MANY PEOPLE WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE LAWRENCE HIGH FOOTBALL a success on game nights. They include, front row from left, Scott Forkenbrock, a member of the chain

From a staff member’s perspective, you have to prepare for the worst in football – with both injuries and stadium maintenance. Some aspects of the night are out of the workers’ control, like the lack of stadium lights when Lawrence High and Olathe North meet.

On two separate occasions, the lights have completely blanked out on the visiting side during this game. Lawrence High athletic director Ron Commons said it was a result of the Olathe North band utilizing electric guitars and other acoustics during its halftime performance. That caused a transformer to blow and the lights to go out. On one occasion, the power outage caused a one-hour delay.

“We couldn’t make announcements over the P.A., so we had to rely on the portable system of walkie-talkies and radios,” Commons said. “Then the refs and the coaches came together, along with the police and sheriff’s department; just all the people that can help you and know exactly what’s going on.”

Not every game has the stadium workers racing into panic mode. For many, it’s fun – and a great workout, as in Chuck Law’s case.

Law, the head boys basketball coach at Free State, is one of four FSHS workers on the chain gang. In his eighth year, Law spots the ball on the sideline with an orange marker. He is responsible for marking what down it is. He cannot take a play off.

“When the Murphy twins make a big play this year, I’ll be the guy who races down the sideline with a box to make sure the next play goes off,” Law said.

BOBBY NICHOLS, TOP LEFT, DEB CARPENTER, CHUCK LAW, T.J. HARRISON (KNEELING), STEVE GRANT, BARB TORGERSON (KNEELING) and MATT GUDENKAUF all work in various capacities to make sure Free State High football games run smoothly on game nights. Nichols, Law and Gudenkauf are part of the chain

Some stadium jobs don’t require the same conditioning that Law’s does. Take ticket takers, for instance.

Robert Rhodes has been the head ticket taker at FSHS for all 10 years of its existence. Rhodes, who is also a special education teacher at FSHS, said people had no idea how meticulous ticket sellers had to be during football games.

“The worst part is counting all the money,” Rhodes said. “You have to make it balance out with the tickets sold.”

He said on several occasions, the six-to-eight-person crew had to recount the money because of dropped or temporarily lost stacks. This is not good, since the tickets are numbered, and the crew has to sell tickets in sequential order. If they don’t, it takes considerably longer to count the money at the end of the night.

“I think it’s one of those jobs that’s really necessary, but no one notices the people doing it,” Rhodes said. “Without those people, things wouldn’t go nearly as smooth.”

The same could be said about clock operators. LHS has a unique one in Ron Lang. He’s been running the clock for the Lions for 25 years.

Bright lights, big dollars

The following is how much Lawrence High and Free State High each set aside this year for playing football at Haskell Stadium:

¢ Cost for LHS renting out Haskell Stadium this season: about $15,000 (five games)
¢ Cost for Free State renting out Haskell Stadium this season: about $12,000 (four games)
¢ Breakdown: $3,000 per game, includes 25 workers needed at $10 an hour, at an average of three hours per game

  • People needed for Friday night football
  • ¢ Ticket sellers
  • ¢ Ticket takers
  • ¢ Supervisors
  • ¢ Public announcement representative
  • ¢ Clock manager
  • ¢ Camera staff
  • ¢ Spotters
  • ¢ Chains crew
  • ¢ Marching band
  • ¢ Concessions
  • ¢ Referees
  • ¢ Crowd control personnel
  • ¢ Lawrence Police Department personnel
  • ¢ School Resource Officer and on-site ambulance

There’s a lot more that goes into Lang’s job than just showing up for work. He gets to Haskell no later than 6:30 p.m., makes sure the clock is operating properly, then checks with officials to ensure everyone’s on the same page.

Lang said he felt a sense of responsibility in operating the clock.

“My main goal is to stay focused and alert. Since I’ve coached before, I realize the importance of the outcome of a game,” Lang said. “I don’t want a faux pas on my part to influence the outcome of the game.”

So what has kept Lang on the clock in the press box for this long?

“I think just being part of the Lawrence High School tradition,” he said.

Lang, 60, said he wasn’t sure how long he would remain in the job.

“It’s any day now,” Lang said. “But I’m on for this season.”

As are Lawrence and Free State. The first games of the season are Friday, with FSHS traveling to Leavenworth and Lawrence playing host to Olathe North at Haskell.

So the next time you’re at Haskell and watch the football action on the field, you’ll know – there’s a whole lot more where that came from.