For the first time in CIF Southern Section and Orange County high school football history, an all-female officiating crew will work a varsity game Thursday night when La Quinta plays Santiago at Garden Grove High.
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The referee – the official who wears the white hat – will be Mary Margaret Montgomery. Also in the five-member crew will be line judges Nina Berbiglia and Kristi Wilson, back judge Sarita Stamps and umpire Mary Ann Menlove.
Montgomery is in her eighth season as an official in the Orange County Football Officials Association and her second as “the white hat,” which is the crew chief. She worked for the Long Beach association for eight years before becoming an Orange County official.
“I’m 58 and I move like I’m 18,” said Montgomery upon volunteering her age.
Montgomery, a South Carolina native, has plenty of football experience. She played flag football before the Independent Women’s Football League was started in 2001 and ceased operation in 2018. Montgomery played quarterback and later played for the Long Beach Aftershock of the American Women’s Football League.
“I’ve been loving this game and playing it since I was playing in the front yard with my brother and my cousin in the front yard, and then going to so many Clemson games,” Montgomery said. “Being an official feels natural and very comfortable.”
The umpire in an officiating crew is the one who is a few yards behind the line of scrimmage on the defensive side. Finding umpire Menlove was the final piece to complete the five-female crew.
Montgomery said Menlove has what might be the most challenging position in the group. Given the umpire’s location pre-snap, it is the most “keep your head on a swivel” position.
“She went to camp and she learned how to do it.,” Montgomery said. “I’m very impressed.”
Santiago coach Doug Ozsvath said four of the five officials for Thursday’s game have been in officiating crews of past Santiago games.
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Ozsvath said every game has good calls and bad calls, good officiating and bad officiating, no matter the age or gender or ethnicity of the officials. So, he never knows what might happen at any game.
“I don’t have any expectations either way,” Ozsvath said. “I know we have an officials shortage, so I’m just grateful that they show up. When refs don’t show up, that’s the worst.”
The game is Santiago’s home game. It will also be a “Pink Out” game to raise funds and awareness about breast cancer.
The public address announcer will be a woman, Maria Ureno. And the live-stream of the game by the Garden Grove Unified School District will have an all-female broadcast team of Holly Jefferson and Stephani Heflin.
Once the game kicks off, Montgomery said, the all-female crew will do its work and forget about everything else.
“We’re just another group of five officials,” Montgomery said. “We all just happen to be females.”
La Quinta is in third place in the Tango League with a 2-1 league record. Santiago is 1-2 in the Tango League.
The top four finishers in the league will be automatic qualifiers for the CIF-SS playoffs, so the outcome of the game will have an impact on the league standings.
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