The math doesn’t add up.

As many as 34 high school football games are played in San Diego County every week. The San Diego County Football Officials Association has only 25 crews to work those games.

Something has to give.

Reluctantly, schools have agreed to move some games from Fridays to Thursdays, with each of the county’s conferences — North County, Grossmont, Metro, Coastal and City — responsible for sharing the load. As many as eight games will be played each Thursday night, starting this week. La Costa Canyon will host University City, Mission Bay will travel to Christian and Army-Navy will take on Orange Glen, among other games, as the curtain rises on the 2023 season.

Westview, which plays at Olympian on Thursday night, is particularly affected by the Thursday switch. The Wolverines have only four home games on this year’s schedule, and have been asked to move one of those to Thursday. The problem: the game in question is Westview’s homecoming.

Torrey Pines will play three Thursday games. In Week 3, crosstown rivals Chula Vista and Hilltop play on a Thursday. Orange Glen has two Thursdays games in the first three weeks.

Late in the season, Hilltop plays at Eastlake on a Thursday while Mission Hills-El Camino and then El Camino-Carlsbad are slated for Thursday in games that could decide the Avocado League race.

“We had to move games to Thursday last season, but this year every conference has been asked to move 20 games,” said John Labeta, commissioner of the North County Conference. “So it’s going to have more of a financial impact.”

One school official estimated a top-flight rivalry game on a Friday would pull in $20,000 to $25,000 in revenue. That same game on a Thursday could bring in half that.

Adding to the crunch: The SDCFOA wants a raise from $90 a person for a varsity game to $120.

Considering the officials work rain or shine, on 100-degree days and 40-degree nights, and are subject to the rants of coaches, players and fans, the game officials feel it’s not an unreasonable request. Officials receive no gas allowance. They must purchase their own equipment.

“We don’t do this for the money,” said Matt Starr, president of the SDCFOA. “But with sportsmanship at a low, with our counterparts in other sections getting paid more, do we really want to get chewed on for $90?

“This isn’t unique to San Diego. We’ve had a lot of older officials retire. We’ve had guys walk away because of injuries, move out of the area or leave for family reasons.

“Our goal is to have every game played on Friday. We understand the importance of playing on Friday. But it comes down to simple math. We don’t have enough crews to work 32-34 Friday games. And we won’t work four-man crews because that cheapens the game.”

A compensation compromise plan is in place. The San Diego Sports Association has agreed to underwrite $250 bonuses for all officials who work nine varsity games this football season.

Starr said he was “delighted” to have a deal in place.

“But we never, ever, discussed the possibility of going on strike to get a raise,” he said. “We’re in this to serve the community. We’d be doing the players, coaches and fans a disservice if we didn’t work.”

With girls flag football a new sport this fall, officials have the opportunity to work those games Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. Those three-man crews earn $67 per person per game.

The SDCFOA has a rich history.

Formed in 1915, seven members have moved from the high school ranks to the NFL, including Frank Rustich, Mike Carey, Don Carey, Garth DeFelice, Tim Podraza, Clay Reynard and Danny Short.

More than 25 members work NCAA Division I games, with more working Division II and junior college contests.

This year’s crew shortage is “a serious problem,” Starr said.

“We’re recruiting like crazy. We’d love to have more younger people … men and women,” he said.

The SDCFOA won’t let new members work varsity or JV games until they’ve put in two years doing freshman and Pop Warner contests. Starr said it’s not fair to throw new officials into a varsity game.

“Maybe they need to look at that,” said one varsity coach. “I understand the reasoning, but some of those first-year people are ready by midseason. We know officiating is a tough job, and we can’t play without them. But we feel we don’t always get the best crews for the big games.”