The usual Friday night lights in the Atoms Stadium, were amplified on Sept. 16 with red and blue police sirens as students from opposing schools got into altercations in the midst of and following the football match up.

The rowdy nature began during halftime as both, Annandale and J.E.B. Stuart students, made their way to the snack bar. Comments were exchanged between a handful of students from both schools and, thus, a fight erupted. The fight was dispersed in a timely matter and there were no serious injuries.

“Administrative team members from both schools, along with the police (who were already on site) responded immediately and separated the crowd,” Annandale Principal Tim Thomas said. “The second half continued without incident but given the heightened level of tension as a result of the halftime flare up, additional police units were requested (and arrived) as a precautionary measure.”

Also as a result of the halftime dispute Stuart students were blockaded onto the visitor bleachers and weren’t given the option to interact with the Annandale students on the opposing side. This was taken as a safety precaution, which helped to prevent further arguments.

After the game however, a select few students from neither Annandale nor Stuart, began to have a quarrel in the Ossian Hall Parking lot. Although exact details surrounding the fight have not been released nor confirmed the disagreement resulted in one non FCPS participant being tased by FCPD in order to help reduce the escalating event.

“Those identified who had no connection with either school have been issued trespass letters,” Thomas said. “ Any [further] reports of the use and/or possession of weapons at any point Friday night or since then are inaccurate.”

Safety is the school’s number one priority, so the events that unraveled on Friday led to a security conversation/evaluation to insure similar events don’t happen at future school functions.

“As an administrative team, we have debriefed and will continue to reflect on and implement measures that need to be in place to ensure that everyone enjoys the true spirit of our events,” Thomas said. “The safety and security of our students remains a priority and we hope that the events from last Friday evening don’t detract from everyone’s support and attendance at our extracurricular programs.”
The game, itself, was a blowout, resulting in the Atoms winning with a final score of 44-0 against over the Raiders, but had great attendance from both sides and surely there was no dull moment.