BEAVER TOWNSHIP — For the past 53 years, Tony Montana has been considered one of the top football referees in the state of Ohio.

He has worked over 1,000 regular season and playoff games on both the high school and collegiate levels, served as a basketball official and since 1991, earned nine softball state finals assignments – he is also a collegiate softball umpire who has worked at the Division I, II and III levels – while working as an area ASA, NSA and PONY softball umpire.

He understands the components that comprise a good arbiter.

“There are three things that I go by with knowledge of the rules first and foremost,” Montana told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center. “First, you must know the rules with the second being your mechanics, which is simply being in the right place so you can make your call. You cannot make a call if you are 50 yards away from the play so you have to know where to be and know the call. Third, a referee must use common sense when getting ready to blow their whistle.”

Montana has worked six state football finals, 13 semi-finals, two Kirk Herbstreit national Kick-Off Classic games and the “Big 33” game in Hershey, Pennsylvania, noting there is no substitute for preparation.

“A referee or official must be both physically and mentally prepared and the way you achieve that is to have a clear mind when you get to your assignment,” Montana added. “The big word is focus. You must be focused on the game and cannot allow any personal or outside distractions so focus is paramount.”

Montana’s football career – he worked his first game in 1972 – has spanned six decades with rules changes a yearly occurrence.

“Holding in football has seen its share of changes,” Montana said. “Everybody yells and says you can call holding on every play and you probably could, but they have changed the rules where you keep your hands out now. In the old days, you would see as many as 15 holding calls in a game. Now, you basically see one or two tops and that’s from high school to college to the professional level.”

Positioning to make the right call is equally important.

“You have no-brainers versus tough calls,” Montana said. “The rule book is always on the field for the crew. Several years ago, the state of Ohio came out with what they call the ‘Gold Book’ and it was designed not so much for the rules, but the mechanics of the rules. They want every official in the state to be on the same page, know where to be, how far on the field and even how far you should be off the field. Should you be on the goal line or at the 1st-and-10 line and what are the most important lines where an official should be positioned?

“The book breaks down anything that happens and you can look things up by using just one or two words. It helps a crew get things right.”

Montana’s veteran crew includes Eric Marino (umpire), Joe Bettura (linesman), his brother Pat Montana (line judge), Robert Marino (back judge) and John Patton (center judge).

This year, the state has gone to six-man crews who will work together during the early rounds of the OHSAA playoffs.

“For years, the state made you work with guys you never knew or worked with before,” Montana said. “You could have someone from Columbus working with someone from Cincinnati, another might be from Youngstown or Toledo and yet another crew member might be from Steubenville. Now, they are going with the crew concept whereby the first couple weeks of the post-season you work with the crew you worked with all year long. That makes more sense because you know your partners.

“You know the guys you go to battle with every week and that adds to how you officiate the game. When you work with someone you might not know, you don’t know what they might call, how they are going to call it or even how they handle a situation that might arise. It is a lot different than knowing your partners.”

Montana and his crew have been called on to officiate multiple rivalry games.

“One of the great rivalry games was Warren G. Harding versus Warren Western Reserve,” Montana said. “That rivalry is no longer but what a rivalry it was. Other significant rivalry games include Austintown Fitch-Boardman, Poland-Canfield, Struthers-Campbell Memorial, Ursuline-Cardinal Mooney, Cleveland St. Edward-Cleveland St. Ignatius and of course the Massillon Washington-Canton McKinley games. Those were always big ones for me to work.

“In all games, especially a rivalry game, keeping the environment safe is our top priority. As an official, you have to maintain control of the game so focus and control are the two keys in maintaining game decorum. You have to control it and just stop anything before it escalates. You want the players and teams to show sportsmanship so you basically break things up before they start. It’s called preventive officiating and it starts with my pre-game talk to both the players and coaches.”

Next week, YSU head football coach Doug Phillips will serve as guest speaker.

On Oct. 6, YSU graduate Sonny Vaccaro, the innovative leader who pioneered sneaker endorsements for college and professional teams and players, and on whom the movie Air (released in 2023) starring Matt Damon was based, will serve as guest speaker.