NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — North College Hill's homecoming game against Summit Country Day School has been rescheduled for a different date and time.
In a release, both schools said they mutually agreed to play their varsity football game on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. at North College Hill Stadium instead of Friday, Oct. 11 as previously scheduled.
North College Hill's athletic department said the school is having a college-style homecoming weekend, with the game and dance on the same day.
"With an 11 a.m. start time, this will allow the North College Hill students and student-athletes to enjoy the Homecoming game, the Homecoming community festivities, and the actual Homecoming dance later on in the evening, all in the same day," the release said.
This decision comes nearly two weeks after shots fired near the stadium halted play between North College Hill and Cincinnati Country Day on Sept. 6. North College Hill then could not play the following week after their next opponent, Miami Valley Christian Academy, said they would not travel there.
"When I heard initially, I was just kind of disappointed," said Artamus Palmer, father of the team quarterback. "Like I've been preaching, our boys deserve better than we're being treated."
WCPO 9 News first spoke with Palmer last week after MVCA canceled its game against NCH.
"If this is a hill I have to die on, I'll die on it," Palmer said. "There's more at stake here than a football game ... but if you're not a part of North College Hill, you don't know the fabric of our community."
It's still unclear why the two schools agreed to switch dates and times for the homecoming game. In a statement, an NCH spokesperson said neither school would comment further on the matter.
Palmer said "the students took a vote" on moving the homecoming game last week.
"Administration came down and said, 'Hey, this is the situation. Let's take a vote,'" Palmer said. "[The] initial response from parents that I talked to, was nobody was happy."
His wife, Lauren, said she was also disappointed.
"There's nothing like Friday night lights and homecoming," Lauren Palmer said. "There's just the whole tradition and buzz."
Lauren Palmer said their son is "pretty irritated" with the situation — as is the rest of the team.
"I don't feel like he feels he's had much of a voice in this," she said. "My son's not a senior, but I thought about the seniors who, this is their last homecoming game."
In a joint statement following the initial incident, North College Hill City Schools and the North College Hill Police Department said the athletic department has taken proper precautions and procedures to ensure the safety of everyone attending their athletic events.
Policies include but aren’t limited to an administrator at every entryway into the stadium, students in grades K-8 must enter the game with their parent, no bags 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.
Officials said the gunshots heard Sept. 6 were not on school property or aimed at the stadium. Police believe someone fired shots near an apartment complex across the street on Bising Avenue.
