NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — North College Hill High School football coach Greg Conwell said Saturday afternoon that the Trojans have no choice but to move forward after a third consecutive week in which the team was not able to complete a game.
Conwell spoke less than 24 hours after NCH’s game against visiting Woodward was stopped with approximately two minutes left before halftime Friday night due to an incident involving gunshots near the football stadium. NCH led Woodward 19-6 in the non-conference matchup.
“Eighty percent of the players were crying,” Conwell said. “They said, ‘Why now? Why during the game?’ It’s like the community has let us down. We just got to keep moving forward. We’re doing stuff that’s right. It’s not our fault.”
Conwell said those responsible for the incident involving gunshots have essentially taken the Trojans’ first win of the season away from them.
“It hurts,” Conwell said.
North College Hill City Schools and the North College Hill Police Department issued a joint statement late Saturday afternoon saying no one inside or outside of the North College Hill stadium was shot or grazed by gunfire Friday night during the game.
“The police department has confirmed and concluded that the gunshots were not in the direction of the stadium and the location of the gunshots were several hundred yards away,” the joint statement said. “This unfortunate event was an isolated event that had nothing to do with North College Hill City Schools and/or Woodward.”
Cincinnati Public Schools issued a statement late Saturday afternoon about Friday's incident:
"Cincinnati Public Schools learned today that a police investigation concluded a Woodward Career Technical High School student was not grazed by a bullet during the football game at North College Hill despite initial reports, but rather injured in the aftermath of the shots fired incident during the game. The District's support remains with the student injured and all the student-athletes and spectators. CPS’ Crisis Response Team will be on-site to provide support to students as they return to school Tuesday."
NCH (0-2) has road games at Roger Bacon (2-3) Sept. 27 and at Norwood (0-5) Oct. 4 and three other opponents after that to conclude the regular season.
Conwell said the Trojans will return to practice Monday in preparation of playing Roger Bacon Sept. 27 at Bron Bacevich Memorial Stadium.
“We can only control what we can control,” Conwell said. “What we can control is to get ready for Roger Bacon. It’s like half our season has been taken away from us.”
NCH hasn’t completed a varsity football game since Aug. 30 when visiting Bishop Brossart won 48-26.
The Sept. 6 home gameagainst Cincinnati Country Day was halted in the third quarter due to gunshots fired near an apartment complex across the street from the North College Hill stadium.
Miami Valley Christian Academy decided to not travel to North College Hill for the Trojans’ scheduled home game Sept. 13.
This past week, NCH’s homecoming game against Summit Country Day was rescheduled from Friday, Oct. 11 to Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.
That game hasn't officially been rescheduled again as of late Saturday afternoon.
NCH has five remaining games on its schedule this season with the expectation those contests will be road games. Conwell said last week the Trojans are trying to earn a postseason berth in Division V, Region 20.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association football regulations state that a team must play eight games in order to be eligible for the postseason although there are exceptions that have been allowed and the regulations reflect that, according to OHSAA football administrator Beau Rugg. The top 16 teams in each region qualify for the postseason starting Nov. 1.
NCH athletic director Rayshawn Walton said Saturday afternoon the Trojans plan to continue the postponed games with Cincinnati Country Day and Woodward at some point this season.
North College Hill City Schools Superintendent Dr. Eugene Blalock Jr. said Friday night that NCH doesn’t plan to play another home football game this season.
"Our students were playing their hearts out, they were winning the game, but now who's going to think about football?" Blalock said Friday night. "So now you have kids who are traumatized, and this is ongoing trauma. If I was a parent, to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I would allow my child to come to another game. I will not put somebody else's life in jeopardy and I would hate to have another school feel like they're doing something wrong by trying to keep their kids safe."
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