When I wrote so many words last week about the late Barr Brown, I simply ran out of space before I could add my thoughts about the other two young men who died in that tragic accident in Waco, Texas.

I did not know Jerry Roberts, but from all accounts he was as deeply involved with Dee Faircloth&8217;s Vidalia Viking football program as Barr Brown was with the Trinity program. Jerry was also an active football official in the Mississippi Private School Association, from my understanding. After the final Southwest Coaches and Officials Clinic several years ago, I lost touch with many local officials, both in football and basketball. I believe Roberts&8217; officiating career began after that time, so I never got to know him.

Justin Cardneaux graduated from Cathedral in 1981, in the same class as my daughter, Jane. Though I did not know Justin, I did know his father and older brother. Justin&8217;s father, Carson, was a local and prominent oil man. I have known Justin&8217;s brother, Adam, for many years, both through golf and his friendship with my sons.

The loss of both of these young men, along with Barr, has been a horrible blow to the Miss-Lou community.

In less sad thoughts, the college bowl season is well under way. It is hard to see how a bowl like the New Orleans Bowl can continue to operate since, only 24,000 fans &8220;filled&8221; the Superdome to watch Troy handle Rice. Two of Saturday&8217;s bowl games did not do much better, each showing about 32,000 in attendance. I do not know if those figures were actual paid attendance or if the numbers included a lot of freebies.

The Troy game saw three early plays go to the replay booth. Big East officials worked the game, but I do not know who manned the replay system. All three reviewed plays involved passes at or close to the goal line. One involved a close catch or no-catch situation at the sideline. The replay showed that the receiver did come down with one foot inbounds, which is all that is required in college football.

Another play involved a pass receiver who was tackled at about the two yard line, but the ruling was that the ball had penetrated the goal line before the player&8217;s knees hit the ground.

The third play saw a pass receiver diving for the corner of the goal line/sideline intersection. Both the officials and the replay booth ruled that the ball had penetrated the plane of the goal line before the player hit the pylon, but I did not think that happened. However, I freely admit that I did not have any view of the play other than that provided by the television broadcast.

All in all, the replay system seems to be working pretty well. There have been games during which too much time has been used to review plays. It was anticipated that about 1:30 would be adequate for review, and that has usually been enough. When a review takes longer than that, the replay official should simply defer to the on-field official&8217;s ruling.And, that&8217;s official.

Al Graning is a former SEC official and former Natchez resident. He can be reached by e-mail at

AlanWard39157@aol.com

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