The football official is always under the watchful eye.

On a particular play, he throws a penalty flag or he doesn’t throw it. Either way, coaches, players, and even fans want an explanation.

A lifelong resident of Lehighton, Jamie Heydt lives with his wife, Jamie, his son, Lucas, and his daughter, Jessica. He’s in his 11th year as a football official.

He officiates youth, sub-varsity, and varsity high school games every week during the season.

“I do six to eight games a weekend,” he said, “and mostly because of the decline in the numbers of football officials, I do as many as 15 games a week which includes Thursday and Friday night varsity games and youth levels on Saturdays and Sundays. I’m not home much, but that comes with the season.”

When he’s not throwing penalty flags on football fields, Heydt slings a spike mall and a sledgehammer on a railroad track as a maintenance man for Norfolk Southern that runs out of Allentown.

His athletic ability to work such a physically demanding day job comes from his high school days playing football and running track for the Lehighton Indians.

“I was a running back and a wide receiver. Two favorite games come to mind. I rushed for 100 yards against Nazareth, and had 100 yards receiving with two touchdowns against Notre Dame-Green Pond. I was also a sprinter and a relay runner on the track team.”

His assignments as a PIAA official keep him within a 100-mile radius of his home and much closer for sub-varsity games. His role varies among the five officials that enforce the rules on the gridiron.

At a recent Northwestern game, he was the line judge, operating along the sideline. He was one of four officials nominated for the Pennsylvania Crew of the Month Award, an initiative instituted by the NFL in partnership with the National Federation of High Schools.

“As the line judge, I look for holding penalties on my side of the field and if the action runs away from me I’ll run across the field and follow the play.

“Before a play begins, I count the number of players, and I watch the neutral zone before the snap for defensive offsides.”

If he’s the head linesman, he’s also responsible for the movement of the chains that mark first downs.

“If I’m the back judge, I stand in the middle of the field about 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage. I cover pass plays and help keep the official time on the clock.”

He has to watch for several different infractions before and during every play that begins and ends in just a few seconds.

“It’s just being human if you miss a few calls, and we don’t have the benefit of video reviews.”

Heydt is planning to become a referee, the only official with a white hat who stands behind the offensive backfield. He’s the crew chief who oversees game supervision and announces the penalties.

In his experience so far, he has had to make a few crucial calls, none more critical than a few weeks ago in Delaware Valley’s one-point loss to Bethlehem Catholic in its opening game of the season.

“Near the end of the game, DelVal scored and decided not to kick the extra point and instead go for two to take the lead and quite possibly win the game. The quarterback threw a pass into the corner of the end zone that was caught, but I ruled the receiver had both feet out of bounds so the conversion was no good.

“The DelVal coach and players never complained about my call. Channel 13 replayed the video over and over again and the result on their end was inconclusive.”

Heydt’s interaction with coaches is usually positive.

“When they question a call, I find that they know their Xs and Os, but many don’t know the intricate details of the rules we enforce.”

The best moments of officiating a game occur during his interaction with the players.

“I’m always friendly and upbeat. I kid around with them and get them to laugh while they’re playing a very physically aggressive game. I want them to have fun.”

He also officiates lacrosse and, in both sports, the not so fun part is dealing with unruly coaches and fans, which happens infrequently, but has had a significant effect upon the profession.

“The problem with the shortage of officials has a lot to do with confrontations with fans and coaches. We try our best to not eject coaches and fans, but sometimes it’s necessary so the game can continue without interruption.”

Heydt loves football and the Friday night lights. Once his playing days were over, he exchanged his maroon and white jersey for one layered with zebra stripes.

The game that once ran through his blood across the line of scrimmage now runs through a rule book to ensure that young athletes play fair.

No matter the score, after the final seconds have ticked off the clock, he and the players from the two opposing teams are all winners.