FARGO - Some North Dakota high school football teams have been forced to play on Thursdays and Saturdays because there aren't enough officials to work the traditional Friday games, referees say.

"It seems the number of games outnumber the number of referees at times," said veteran football, basketball and baseball referee Jeff Risk, 52, of Minot.

"We are so strapped in football," Risk said. "We don't have any subs. We've got guys out there just to find people and drag them to an officials' meeting."

Dave Carlsrud, a spokesman for the North Dakota High School Activities Association, estimates the state has about 1,200 referees at all levels. Many are on the doorstep of retirement, and schools are scrambling to get 20- and 30-somethings interested.

"It's not just athletics. Even in fine arts, they're having trouble finding judges and so forth," Carlsrud said.

LaVern Jessen, commissioner of the Dakota Athletic Conference, a small college conference with schools in North Dakota and South Dakota, said officiating crews he hired for football last season have retired. He said scheduling refs has become a juggling act.

"They quit because of various reasons. Some of them are getting a little old. Some of them couldn't put together a full crew," Jessen said. "We just don't have the replacements out there."

High School Activities Association officials say they're not just out to find referees - they're out to keep them coming back year after year. The association has been on a publicity blitz with advertising, public service announcements, media appearances and old-fashioned door-to-door sales, to try sign up new referees.

"You almost have to physically reach out and touch someone," said Carlsrud, who considers it a long-term project.

North Dakota officials' pay varies by sport. Football refs can earn $65.50 per game, hockey refs $72 per game. But Carlsrud said that in most cases, it's not about money.

"At the end of the day, with most people who officiate and coach, the relationships are what come to the top - 'What did I get out of this and what did I give?'" he said.