Last Friday night on the high school football scene was both sad and senseless.
Sad?
I was informed that a player from Chicago Curie (Quaashi Chandler) had gone into full cardiac arrest on the sidelines of the Bolingbrook/Curie game at Bolingbrook with just 41 seconds to play in the game. Later on that same evening the young man passed away.
Needless to say any type of excitement we all had on Friday night was suddenly ended with this tragic news.
It just never really makes sense when someone so young is taken away so quickly. It's a coaches worst nightmare and it's something that as a father of two just always seems to hit me harder than ever the older I get.
Senseless?
The word started getting out later on Friday evening that the game between Chicago Simeon and North Chicago at North Chicago was suspended and eventually called off because of fights on the field with the Wolverines leading 21-0. The refs and school officials decided to send everyone home and ended the game, clearing the stands and the teams off of school property.
A fight between fans in the parking lot at the Niles West at Niles North game also brought a huge police response and a handful of people were arrested.
Fights? They have been going on for years off the field and I'm pretty sure that they won't go away anytime soon. The schools and local police will always have it's hands full, especially now more than ever these days. Off of the field the police and school officials can and will ensure all they can to provide a safe atmosphere, but that job these days isn't getting any easier.
Yet seeing or even hearing about teams fighting on the field?
It's an issue that has to be addressed immediately and with a firm hand. Whether it's a self imposed penalty and/or the IHSA gets involved, a serious message needs to be sent.
The IHSA for years has talked about and promoted good sportsmanship. Now that these unfortunate issues have surfaced, it's time to send a message that these incidents won't be tolerated and that the penalty will be severe. Period.
Sending out IHSA propaganda or even worse it's goofy big orange A mascot "Attitude" as an answer won't do anymore.
Let's hope this is the last Friday night of this kind we see for along time to come.
It's time to end the nonsense now.
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