NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — Concerns are mounting for parents of North College Hill High School football players who say one incident does not define the team nor the community.
It was announced Wednesday that NCH's upcoming opponent, Miami Valley Christian Academy, would not travel to North College Hill for Friday's game. This decision comes less than a week afterNCH's game against Cincinnati Country Day ended abruptly when shots were fired near their stadium.
NCH athletic director Rayshawn Walton and football coach Greg Conwell said the Trojans will likely not play a game this Friday night.
“We’re ready to play on our end,” Walton said.
Messages left with the Miami Valley Christian Academy's athletic department Wednesday and Thursday have not been returned.
NCH’s Sept. 6 game came to a halt midway through the third quarter after shots were fired near an apartment complex across the street from the stadium on Bising Avenue, police said.
In a joint statement Tuesday, North College Hill City Schools and the North College Hill Police Department said the athletic department has taken proper precaution and procedures to ensure the safety of everyone attending their athletic events.
"Although they don't have a game [Friday], they all have on their shirts and ties like they're supposed to," said Artamus Palmer, the father of the team's quarterback, AJ. "We didn't get the chance to say, 'Hey, here's the plan we already have in place,' which was shared with parents."
According to the joint statement, policies include but aren’t limited to an administrator at every entry way into the stadium, students in grades K-8 must enter the game with their parent, no bags are allowed in (if a bag is needed, it is thoroughly checked), no re-entry into the games and police/administrator escorts for the visiting team.
The joint statement said the gunshots Sept. 6 were not aimed at the stadium or anyone inside the stadium. The statement also said the gunshots were not on the school property.
Palmer walked us through what he remembered experiencing at last Friday's game: "So I remember it was like, probably [the] third down. We're hiking the ball. We get the ball off, and all of a sudden we hear crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, four to six shots fire out."
Palmer said he anticipated cancellations following the shooting, noting it doesn't anger him but does leave him frustrated.
"This isn't an area that this happens in on a regular basis," he said. "I can't invalidate someone's feelings, because I've been there."
He said the hope is upcoming opponents will look at the situation with a sense of vigilance rather than fear.
"But my hope is that people are sitting in their homes in North College Hill and the surrounding areas, wondering, how can we help rebuild 'the Hill'?'" Palmer said.
When asked how his son and teammates are feeling heading into Friday with no game to compete in, Palmer said, "I'm sensing a bit of sadness."
The status of the NCH versus Cincinnati Country Day game has not changed. Cincinnati Country Day led NCH 28-20 before the game was stopped.
Conwell said NCH had possession of the football and the Trojans would like to resume the football game at some point. Walton confirmed NCH’s intention to resume.
“We want to play the quarter and a half,” Walton said.
Cincinnati Country Day coach Dennis Coyle, who is also the school's athletic director, told WCPO their school is focusing on the student-athletes.
"No decision on making up the NCH game at this time — will look at in the coming weeks," Coyle wrote in a text message. "But right now we are focusing on CCPA (Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy) and the kids' mental health."
Cincinnati Country Day (2-0) plays host to CCPA (3-0) Friday night.
Conwell told WCPO 9 Sept. 7 that the Week 3 game experienced an unfortunate incident and he is glad everyone involved with the game is safe. He said he’s emphasized to the NCH student-athletes that the football program is attempting to always be a positive reflection of the community.
He said the NCH student-athletes are being “punished” as a result of this week’s game being canceled.
Regular-season football games are important due to the computer points that are accumulated to determine the Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason seeding process.
“We have an ambition of trying to make the playoffs,” Conwell said.
North College Hill (0-2) is next scheduled to play host to Woodward (0-3) Sept. 20. MVCA (1-2) is scheduled to host Manchester (2-1) Sept. 20.
North College Hill and MVCA are members of the Miami Valley Conference but this Friday’s scheduled game was not considered a conference game. MVCA is in the MVC Gray division while NCH is in the Scarlet division. The game wouldn’t have counted toward the teams’ league standings.
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