varsity.roanoke.com

George Washington and William Fleming had an important game scheduled for Friday night. One problem, though -- the game officials didn't know about it.

The Western Valley District matchup at Patriots Stadium was postponed until 6 tonight because of a scheduling glitch that left both teams confused.

A crowd of hundreds gathered and the players rushed onto the sidelines shortly before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday. Suddenly, everyone realized there weren't any guys in striped shirts at midfield.

"I've never seen anything like this -- as a player, as a coach, as an official myself," said GW vice principal Withers Jackson, who oversees athletics at his school. "I've never seen anything like it."

After about a half hour of trying -- and failing -- to reach the Western Virginia Football Officials Association to secure emergency officials, administrators from both teams met and decided to postpone the game.

"It was a communication thing," Fleming assistant principal Roland Lovelace said. "Things like that happen. That's just life."

Reached at home Friday night, Western Virginia Football Officials Association commissioner Steve Fleshman said the game was never on his schedule.

"All my assignments are made through the computer," Fleshman said. "Each school has the responsibility of checking the computer to make sure their games are on there and listed. I guess I have that one set up as an away game [for Fleming] through a scheduling error. That's the only thing I can think."

Schools send their schedules to the association before the season. Fleshman then enters them into the Web-based program and asks athletic directors to double-check to make sure all their games are correct. Fleming's contact with the association, Lovelace, served as AD until last month, when he was replaced on an interim basis by Zach Hayden.

Fleming offered refunds or rain checks for tonight's game, which will clinch a playoff spot for the winner.

"You always have to apologize to people when they come and something's not correct," Lovelace said. "We'll make a public apology to them again probably tomorrow."

Jackson said the switch will cost his Danville school between $1,600 and $2,500 in travel and related expenses. He declined to comment on whether GW will seek reimbursement.

Fleshman said it won't be a problem getting officials to work tonight's game, although he wishes it had never come to that.

"I feel bad for the kids," he said. "The kids are ready to play, and because the adults didn't do their jobs, it makes it look like we're making the kids second-class citizens, and I don't like that.

"But if the adults had done their jobs the way they're supposed to, this wouldn't have happened."