If it?s possible to put together a dream team of referees the 54th Agganis All-Star Football Classic on Thursday, Manning Field may see just that.
A top-flight crew of officials has been put together by Dick Sauchuk, head of officiating in the Northeastern Conference and Cape Ann League. It?s a group whose members have called games at the highest levels of Division I college football and at nearly every other level along the way.
For Lynnfield?s Paul White, the game will be memorable for two reasons. First, his son, Steven White, will be playing on the North All-Star team. Second, he will be out there as one of the officials calling the game.
It?s the completion of a three-generation cycle in the White family when it comes to Agganis. Paul?s father, Paul White Sr., was a classmate of Harry Agganis at Boston University in the 1950s, and Paul White played in the Agganis game for Stoneham High in 1976.
?I met people playing in the Agganis game that I?m still close with today,” Paul White said. “And just to be on the field with the guys I?m officiating with is a special moment. I?m very happy that Dick asked me to be in the game again and to share this moment with these football players.”
Steven White is one of five Pioneers who will be playing together for a final time. One of those teammates ? David Adams ? also follows in the footsteps of his father, Bill, who played in the game for Swampscott and later went on to play in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills.
?David and Steven are very close friends,” Paul White said. “It was a thrill to watch these guys grow up and stick together and have one of those special seasons where everything came together.”
Another of the those who will be officiating Thursday night is a name that will be familiar to those who know the history of high school football in Lynn.
Gary Dancewicz is a member of one of the most famous football families in the area. His father, Boley Dancewicz, starred at Lynn Classical and went on to play at Notre Dame and in the professional ranks for the Boston Yankees.
Gary Dancewicz played for Lynn English and in the 1966 Agganis game. He later went on to play defensive back at Boston College before focusing on refereeing.
He began officiating in 1972 at the high school level and worked his way through the ranks to eventually become a highly regarded official at the collegiate level. He worked the 2000 Rose Bowl and the 2004 BCS National Championship game at the Sugar Bowl between Oklahoma and LSU.
Dancewicz, who now resides in Melrose, has never forgotten what the Agganis game is all about.
?It really is a great game,” Dancewicz said. “I know the kids who play in it love it. They love to play football and it gives them a chance to play one more time.”
John Salmon, another official working the game on Thursday, played with Dancewicz at BC for long-time coach Joe Yucica.
?John and I played together in college and I?ve worked with all the guys on the crew at one point,” Dancewicz said. “The guys who do this enjoy it. And believe me, the officials will be working hard. They just can?t coast. The more competitive the game and the closer it is, we enjoy it more.”
Another Lynner, Steve Walsh, will be working the game for the 11thtime.
?It?s truly an honor to be picked to do this game,” Walsh said. “Dick puts his faith in us to work with a group of all-stars. To be part of it is an honor.”
Walsh is also a trustee for the Agganis Foundation, so he knows there is a lot more that goes into what the fans will see on the field Thursday night.
?The games are a part of it, but the people involved in (the Agganis Foundation) are great,” Walsh said. “The whole week really is a great celebration and a combination of the work of the volunteers and the four years of work from the student-athletes.”
Walsh knows the officials will have a challenging job on their hands on Thursday.
?These kids don?t play like it?s an exhibition,” he said. “They play to win and we expect that. The