It was a Thursday evening early in the boy's season, and I was in the varsity middle for a match between two local rivals. One of them, St. Thomas Aquinas, was a perennial contender that battles for state and national rankings. The other, Blue Valley West, was a new school in only its second season of play and wanted to make a statement.

The match was scoreless with 26 minutes left in the second half when an Aquinas forward picked a West defender's pocket about 35 yards from goal and charged forward, West players steaming after him. One West midfielder made a determined run at the proper angle and, reaching at the last second, clipped the Aquinas player's heel just outside the penalty area. Trailing the play, I hit the whistle and sprinted to the spot of the foul, knowing I'm going to have to sell that this is not a penalty kick.

I planted myself on the position, pointing firmly with both hands where the ball would be placed, then signaled the direct kick. The Aquinas players surrounded me, calling for a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

Continued...