Any game between C. Milton Wright and Bel Air is sure to be fueled by the intense
rivalry between the two teams, but this year’s boys’ basketball game was certainly one for the
books.
rivalry between the two teams, but this year’s boys’ basketball game was certainly one for the
books.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Mustangs took on the Bobcats during their home opener game,
defeating them with a score of 87-41. Senior Cayne Woodland, a new addition to the team who
previously attended Parkville High School, has proven himself to be a key player early on in the
season. Woodland scored 31 points, along with 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Another notable
contributer was junior Dylan Sander, who totaled 17 points and 13 rebounds. But aside from the
score of the game, there is much more that remains to be discussed.
Before the game took place, fans on both sides began to build the tension by targeting
specific players and students from each school on social media platforms such as Twitter and
Instagram. Although some of these posts were all fun and games, many of the comments that
were made were taken too far. The Pony Express marketing editor, Phoebe Hennessey, had her
own opinion on the issue. “In the beginning, I think that some of the posts were funny and it is
expected for them to make people mad since that is how it always is, but it started to get
annoying in the comment sections when people’s personal business that had nothing to do with
anything was brought up,” said Hennessey. Being able to tune out what was going around on
social media would be a huge part of getting into the right mindset for this important game. “I
just had to get locked and and a big part of that was listening to music,” said Sander.
Once game time came around, the gym was filled with energy from the C. Milton
student section decked out in all white and the Bel Air student section in navy blue. It was
expected for there to be a great deal of banter between the two student sections, and it was made
very clear that any innapropriate comments made towards players or other fans would not be
tolerated. A violation of this would result in immediate removal from the game. Chants on both
sides began, becoming progressively worse as time went on. Warnings were administered to both
sections in an attempt to make the environment suitable enough to continue play, but that did not
stop the chants from rolling in.
Before the end of first quarter, administrators ultimately made the
decision to remove both student sections from the game to reduce further conflict. As Bel Air
fans flooded out from the main doors, C. Milton fans exited from the side doors. Administrators
realized that it was a mistake to let both sections out at the same time, as the quarrel continued
outside. “I thought a civil war was going to break out,” noted a fan. But C. Milton students were
brought back inside and released shortly after.
decision to remove both student sections from the game to reduce further conflict. As Bel Air
fans flooded out from the main doors, C. Milton fans exited from the side doors. Administrators
realized that it was a mistake to let both sections out at the same time, as the quarrel continued
outside. “I thought a civil war was going to break out,” noted a fan. But C. Milton students were
brought back inside and released shortly after.
Despite the hectic and lengthy dispute, the game continued, but with much less fans in
the audience. However, some students managed to stay for the remainder of the game. “It
brought the energy and electricity of the game down, but we had to deal with it, and we knew
that we had each other,” said Sander.
