At Berkeley High School, football games are traditionally a way to have fun with friends and engage in school community and spirit. However, on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, multiple physical and verbal altercations at Jacket Stadium caused BHS’ match against Arroyo High School to end prematurely. Even though it was cut short, BHS won the game 27-10.
Although Berkeley struggled at the beginning of their game, letting Arroyo take an early 10-0 lead, the Jackets took back momentum with multiple touchdowns in the second quarter from Caleb Wright and Samani Roberson. All four touchdowns were thrown by junior quarterback Sinjin Amianda-Cook, helping lead the team to an eventual victory.
High energy in the stands matched the momentum on the field, and as the game continued, multiple fights broke out among spectators. Security guards were tasked with stopping the fights. “I was just doing my job,” Steven Saunders, BHS school security officer, said, “That part was stressful ... it’s delicate, so you have to be careful how you handle students in that type of situation.”
After halftime, tension and fighting among students increased. Multiple fights occured simultaneously when students spotted police cars arriving. According to The Berkeley Scanner, Berkeley police recieved reports of a gun, but did not find one.
After the police arrived, the crowd grew increasingly out of control. “People were scared and they were running and going in every direction,” sophomore Delilah Hornby said, “It was scary because nobody knew what was going on.”
Many students descended the stands and out onto the track in attempts to hop the fence. Police instructed students to evacuate the premises immediately, while Berkeley staff encouraged everyone over the Public Address system to return to their seats in order to allow the game to continue.
Ultimately, the environment became too hostile to continue play. Attendees evacuated the campus and the game was cut short.
For many students, the game was not what they had expected, and the rambunctious environment was amplified by uncertainty. “Some rumors I heard were that there was a gun, or that a gun (had been) shown, and that there could have been a bomb,” Hornby said.
Despite no major injuries, according to BHS principal Juan Raygoza in an email to students and staff, BHS football coaches and players were disappointed with the outcome of the game. While it was technically a win for BHS, the premature ending caused frustrations for many involved. “The incident that happened on Friday kind of killed playing time for everybody else, so it affected guys who kind of don’t typically get in and their opportunities,” football running back coach Joshua Blocker said.
BHS sophomore and wide receiver Gray Baroni expressed the team’s frustrations with the outcome.
“We had a lot of fight left. We’ve been working all summer for just 10 games to prove ourselves, and the fact that one of 10 games ... got canceled because the student section wanted to act up (is unacceptable),” Baroni said.
These events not only affected students, players, and staff in the moment, but also future BHS football games. A revised set of rules for attending games was publicized in the email from Principal Juan Raygoza.
At all home games moving forward, students are required to bring physical school identification cards, and stricter entry screening measures such as prohibiting bags were put in place.
“Friday made clear that, at least for now, we need to make some changes to how we manage admission and entry at our games so that everyone can feel safe and supported,” Raygoza said.