2024 Conference Championships

Hochuli and Blakeman are the referees for the Conference Championships

Blakeman works consecutive CCGs, Hochuli’s first

Published

2 weeks ago

January 20, 2025

Football Zebras has confirmed the assignment of referees Shawn Hochuli and Clete Blakeman to the Conference Championship games on Sunday. Hochuli will have the NFC game between the Commanders and Eagles; Blakeman will be heading the crew for the AFC title match between the Bills and Chiefs.

NFC Championship Game, Commanders at Eagles, 3 p.m. ET Fox

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Shawn Hochuli is working his first Conference Championship, adding to his playoff résumé which includes a Wild Card Playoff and 7 Divisional Playoffs. He has an on-field playoff assignment in every year he was eligible.

Fairly or not, Hochuli is frequently mentioned in context with his father, former NFL referee Ed Hochuli. Here, the family comparison is welcome, as the elder Hochuli worked 9 Conference Championship games, and Shawn is taking his first step towards that achievement.

Hochuli was a referee in the Pac-12 Conference for four seasons when the NFL hired him in 2015. He was also a referee in the Arena Football League for 8 seasons.

Hochuli, 46, is a financial advisor in the Los Angeles area.

			Yrs	2024 crew	College	Occupation
R	83	Shawn Hochuli	11		Claremont	financial advisor
U	89	Mike Morton	3	Kemp	North Carolina	dentist FORMER NFL PLAYER
DJ	6	Jerod Phillips	9	Martin	Northeastern State	real estate agent
LJ	10	Julian Mapp	16	Blakeman	Grambling State	software quality assurance tester
FJ	117	John Jenkins	11	Eck	St. Mary’s	sales executive
SJ	125	Chad Hill	7	Allen	Mississippi	medical sales
BJ	93	Scott Helverson	22	Kemp	Iowa	sales, printing and promotions
RO		Tyler Cerimeli	7	Blake	Arizona State	high school officials coordinator
RA		Jim Van Geffen	2	Clark	Texas-Austin	director of suppply chain management
ALT	R	Clay Martin	10		Oklahoma Baptist	retired high school administrator and basketball coach
ALT	U	Brandon Cruse	3	Cheffers	South Dakota School of Mines & Technology	management consultant
ALT	DJ	Dale Keller	2	Vinovich	Nevada-Reno	director of civil engineering
ALT	LJ	Carl Johnson	21	Hussey	Nicholls State	retired sales manager, former full-time official
ALT	FJ	Sean Petty	2	Kemp
ALT	SJ	Keith Washington	17	Torbert	Virginia Military Institute	program financial analyst
ALT	BJ	Jimmy Russell	6	Hochuli	Pasco Hernando State	insurance agent
ALT	RO	Jamie Nicholson	7	Hochuli	Ferris State	teacher

Morton is working in the first season he is eligible to work a Conference Championship.

AFC Championship Game, Bills at Chiefs, 6:40 p.m. ET CBS Paramount+

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Clete Blakeman will be the referee for the AFC Championship Game, working back to back Conference Championships and his third in the last five years. This is Blakeman’s 16th postseason assignment, including 4 Wild Card Playoffs, 5 Divisional Playoffs, 5 Conference Championships, and Super Bowl 50. His Super Bowl assignment was as a referee. Blakeman has had an on-field assignment for 8 consecutive seasons.

Before becoming an official, Blakeman was a second-string quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1984 to 1987. He started a handful of games, most notably a 70-0 shutout of the Kansas Jayhawks in 1986.

Blakeman, 60, came to the NFL from the Big 12 Conference in 2008. After a couple of seasons at field judge, he was promoted to referee in 2010.

Blakeman is a personal-injury attorney in Omaha, where he lives with his wife and two children.

			Yrs	2024 crew	College	Occupation
R	34	Clete Blakeman	17		Nebraska	attorney
U	77	Terry Killens	6	Hochuli	Penn State	campus security specialist FORMER NFL PLAYER
DJ	106	Patrick Holt	6	Hochuli	North Carolina State	IT manager
LJ	45	Jeff Seeman	23	Smith	Minnesota	brokerage sales
FJ	90	Anthony Flemming	5	Hussey	Texas A&M-Commerce	senior auditor
SJ	58	Don Willard	7	Blake	Illinois State	physical therapist
BJ	30	Todd Prukop	16	Vinovich	Cal State-Fullerton	medical sales representative
RO		Chad Adams	7	Blakeman	Cincinnati	operations
RA		Bryant Thompson	2	Martin
ALT	R	Shawn Smith	10		Ferris State	finance
ALT	U	Bryan Neale	11	Rogers	Indiana	sales consultant
ALT	DJ	Danny Short	8	Wrolstad	North Carolina-Charlotte	executive director, global sales operations
ALT	LJ	Tim Podraza	17	Hochuli	Nebraska	business performance consultant
ALT	FJ	Eugene Hall	11	Cheffers	North Texas	federal agent
ALT	SJ	Alonzo Ramsey	3	Martin	Howard	banking
ALT	BJ	Rich Martinez	11	Wrolstad	Canisius	sales manager
ALT	RO	Andrew Lambert	7	Hussey	Central Virginia Community College	business development