THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Diamond on the sideline — Paul Mortensen has been a fixture on the Coeur d'Alene High football chain gang for 29 years

Paul Mortensen has been knocked over a few times. 

He's had to dodge opposing coaches while racing down the field after a long play to make sure the down marker is in place before the next play. 

But, other than a few occasions over the years when he's been traveling — which happens when you're retired — he's never missed a snap. 

Mortensen, who turned 78 last month, is in his 29th year on the chain gang at Coeur d'Alene High home football games. 

"I've always been active in sports," Mortensen said recently, on the visitors' sideline just before a Viking home game. "I was a baseball umpire for over 20 years, but I never wanted to officiate football. But I have always been fascinated by chain crews, so I wanted to be on the chain crew."

"He makes it feel like a family," said Melody Melton, who has been responsible for making the chain gang is staffed for Viking varsity home football games since the late 1990s. At first, she filled in on the chain game when needed. Eventually, some 15 years ago, she "promoted" herself to the chain gang full-time.  

"When you show up for a game, Paul gives you a hug, or a handshake, and you leave with a hug or a handshake at the end of the game," she said. 

WHEN MORTENSEN and his family moved to Coeur d'Alene from Baltimore in 1997, their son Spencer turned out for the Coeur d'Alene High football team as a junior. 

Rather than be a dad in the stands when his son played, Paul wanted to be a little closer to the action. 

These days, he's the "box guy" — the person who runs the down marker. In the old days, the box guy flipped the numbers from 1 to 4. Now, it's electronic. He's been the box guy from probably 10 years. 

There's also the guys (or gals) at each end of the 10-yard chain, plus the "clip guy," who puts the clip on the chain at just the right spot so when the officials bring the chain out for a measurement, they can line the clip up at the proper 5-yard-line spot. 

He's handled all those duties over the years. 

"The box guy is kinda THE position," Mortensen said. "He's kind of the leader; when there's a first down, the box guy heads down the sideline as fast as he can and plants that post, and the other guys catch up." 

Which isn't easy, especially after a long gainer, and the offense looking to hurry up and run the next play. 

"But I've always had running skills," he said. "And I've slowed down a little bit, but at the age of 78 I can still run." 

The past couple seasons, with an extra chain game person (Coeur d'Alene football also has depth on the chain gang), Paul might be the box guy in the first half, then be on one end of the chain after that. 

"It's just happened with this crew, because we have a tight bond, and we just want to share," Mortensen said. 

The box guy wears the yellow vest with the diamonds on it. 

"Paul has this language with the side judge, when he changes the number on the box," said Melton, a retired teacher at Coeur d'Alene High who was an assistant and later co-head girls golf coach. "He'll change the number and say third down, and the sideline judge nods and acknowledges that. It's just this weird little dance that they do when they run the box, and they communicate with the sideline judge. It would go unnoticed. ...He's very precise; he's very professional." 

Mortensen was born in St. Anthony, Idaho, in 1948, and graduated from Minico High in Rupert. While in college (he attended BYU and the University of Baltimore), he decided he wanted to be an FBI agent. 

He spent nine years in the U.S. Marine Corps before being hired by the FBI, where he worked out of Denver for two years, then out of Baltimore for 12 years. In 1997, he was transferred to Coeur d'Alene, where he worked out of the Salt Lake City division of the FBI for eight years before retiring as an FBI special agent in 2005. 

Mortensen is a published author. 

AS FOR those close calls ...  

"Yes, I've been knocked down a few times," Mortensen said. "And I've learned when the play comes toward the sideline, toward the chain crew, you lay things down and get out of the way.  

"That comes with on-the-job training. When a play is coming toward the sideline, you don't want to be a hero, because you could get hurt." 

(Great advice!) 

Fortunately, he's never been hurt while on the chain gang. 

"I got smacked a couple of times where I could have gotten hurt, but I was lucky." 

He said he's been hit "in the torso, fortunately not the knees." He's been knocked down, "but no broken bones," he said. "Never missed a snap." 

"The other fun thing about being on the chain crew is, you're on the enemy sideline," he said. "You're with the opposing team, so you get to hear all kinds of stuff. But then, we also have to be neutral. We can't cheer, we can't root, we have to be totally neutral." 

Paul Mortensen said he plans to come back next year on the chain gang, saying 30 years is a nice round number. 

Whenever that time comes, Melton said she will miss "getting to see my friend on Friday nights, for over 20 years. I taught three of his four kids that went to school here (one graduated in Virginia). He's a part of football to me at Coeur d'Alene High School." 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports. 

    Courtesy photo Paul Mortensen, circa 2013.