years ,” Noles said . “ Every year you call , something funny happens . Sometimes , a lot of funny stuff happens .” Shavers and Manord shared a couple of those stories . “ The only time I ’ ve been physically attacked after a game was in a pee-wee or wee-wee game ,” Shavers said . “ Everyone thought their kid was going to be the next Joe Namath . That ’ s why you get paid more to cover those games .”
“ We were covering Hoover and Tuscaloosa County at The Met ,” Manord said . “ Just before the half , all the lights went out during a double-reverse . It took them about an hour to get them back on if I remember correctly . Later in the game , Corky ( Shavers ) got hit hard . We went over there , and he looked up and asked , ‘ Did I hurt him ?’ It was just a joy working together .”
Between the three of them , they ’ ve seen a Heisman Trophy winner in action , watched athletes who ’ ve since gone on to play for national championship programs and performed on the biggest stage — the Super 7 games — that cap off each high school season .
But a lot has changed over those years , as the trio can attest .
“ The players now are bigger , stronger and faster ,” Shavers said .
Said Manord : “ The players weren ’ t as conditioned back in the 70s . And the game of football has progressed with the coaches and all the technology . But I ’ ve seen a lot of good athletes and a lot of good coaches over the years .”
Although their officiating careers are now in the fourth quarter , the trio isn ’ t too worried about what lies ahead in the years to come .
The memories made , the experiences shared and the friendships forged by both will accompany them long after the final whistle blows .
“ There ’ s a love of the game for all of us ,” Shavers said . “ Money is the last thing we care about . You can do anything and make more than what we make . We ’ re best friends , and we talk just about every day . I don ’ t know of three other guys who have lasted this long in one association . As far as for me , it ’ s a physical thing . My back hurts ( laughs ). I have my brace , my Bio-Freeze and my Tylenol . But we all tried to call every game fairly , whether people think we did or not .”
Added Noles : “ We ’ ve got over 150 years of officiating between us . Most people don ’ t do it nearly as long as we do — they lose interest or get tired . It ’ s worked out well for us . We get together on a call , feed off each other and try to get it right .”
For Manord , it ’ s been all about the people along the journey .
“ The friendships you develop with each other , coaches , fans , players — we ’ ve worked with some great people ,” he said . “ It ’ s been a rewarding career . It ’ s important to take pride in what you do . I hope what we ’ ve done over the years has helped the game of football . It ’ s not about the officials . It ’ s about the coaches , players and fans . We want to be invisible . If no one knows who officiated the game when it ’ s over , then we did a great job .”
Bobby Noles during an Addison High School football game in October 2009 .
James Shavers , left , and Wayne Manord share a laugh during a timeout during the 2009 Holly Pond Hanceville football game .
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