ABOVE: From left: Spencer Chirpich, Chris Voss, Jordan Voss, Zach Dahl, and Lee Baarts pose in front of U.S. Bank Stadium before last season’s Class A semifinal matchup between Springfield and Mahnomen/Waubun. The crew will take on this season’s Class 9-Player Football Championship between Hills-Beaver Creek and Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Saturday morning. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – History is repeating itself once again for a local Fairmont officiating crew. For the second year in a row, Jordan and Chris Voss, Zach Dahl, Lee Baarts and Spencer Chirpich will be heading to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to referee for the 2025 State Class 9-Player Football Championship between Hills-Beaver Creek and Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.

The contest will start at 10 a.m. this morning.

“It’s kind of like Christmas came early for us,” Jordan Voss said. “This is a huge passion for us; we spend a ton of time trying to be the best we can. So for this, we are just super thankful and excited to get the opportunity to go back there again.”

Last fall, the group was one of the 30 officiating crews selected to participate in the state tournament, with over 500 other referee rotations applying for this high honor. They partook in a Class A semifinal matchup between Springfield and Mahnomen/Waubun.

The stakes are even grander this time around. The group has moved from a semifinal to a championship game matchup in the 9-Player football Class, a typical transition for certain officiating crews who have shown consistency at the biggest stages of the sport.

“The email that comes out if you get a state game in general is in the middle of October,” Jordan Voss said. “We found out right about then. … It said we would be doing the Prep Bowl on it, and we were super excited, because of the progression going from quarterfinals to semifinals, and if you do good in years prior, you could have a chance at a Prep Bowl.”

Last year’s selection process required a Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) observer to watch a handful of contests this group officiated in during the regular season. Outside of the basic mechanics and hustling to the action on the field, the biggest thing observers watch for is the overall chemistry as a unit in certain situations.

While an observation wasn’t required this past regular season, the group was under watch during their recent quarterfinal Class AAA matchup between Pine Island and Minneapolis North due to MSHSL requirements.

“When they see you fix things on the field, that’s huge,” Baarts said. “That means everybody is doing something as a team, and the games go smoother. People don’t like the stoppage of play, but they like it when you get it right.”

This return to U.S. Bank Stadium is an eye-opening experience for the entire crew, despite officiating last year’s game and taking many other trips to watch the Minnesota Vikings since the 2016 opening.

While the nerves and pre-game jitters remain the same, the group knows their work together over the past seasons has paved the way for success, even when the lights are at their brightest.

“It’s something to walk into that stadium and to look up, saying, ‘Holy cow, we get to step out and officiate on this field,” Dahl said.

“[Last year’s] game was a pretty smooth game, a pretty competitive game,” Chris Voss said. “There weren’t a lot of weird things that happened; it’s a football game, and there are some weird things that fans don’t even know. …We got some pointers from the critiquers that we could use, and we have taken those with us.”

A Minnesota Prep Bowl appearance is one of the highest honors for anyone officiating at the high school level of football. Knowing you are one of the seven remaining referee groups left during the fall season is an accomplishment in itself.

When asking Jordan Voss about future goals, he alluded to the possibility of officiating in a higher class of Minnesota high school football beyond 9-Player. The crew has only grown in its short tenure together, moving from quarterfinal and semifinal games before finally earning a spot in the championship.

Now, the objective is a continuing climb through the different classes-witnessing bigger schools, bigger crowds, and even bigger atmospheres.

“My goal would be to get another Prep Bowl with a higher class, because that just means you are moving forward,” Jordan Voss said.