Olympic coach: No concerns playing at Garinger

Olympic High football coach Barry Shuford said he has "absolutely no concerns" with his team playing at Garinger Friday.

A fight broke out in the stands during Garinger's home game with Charlotte Catholic last week and school officials stopped the game at the start of the fourth quarter with Catholic leading 37-7.

As fans were leaving, another incident happened outside the stadium and police said there were gunshots fired. Two adults and one 17-year-old Garinger student were arrested. No one was struck by gunfire, but a policeman injured his hand trying to break up a fight.

Shuford said that kind of incident could've happened anywhere in the county.

"I know (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) will do what they can to make it safe," said Shuford, who coached at Garinger in the mid-'90s. "It was an isolated thing in the parking lot and all the metal detectors in the world won't stop something that happens in the parking lot.

"There are some extra dark areas at Garinger between the stadium and the parking lot. It's been that way for 15 years, but I'm sure they'll beef up security in those areas."

In the past 25 years, there have been several incidents with violence at football games. Among them:

- In 1988, three people, including an assistant coach, were shot with a .22-caliber pistol during a West Charlotte-Garinger game.

- In 1990, a Myers Park student was shot and killed by a stray bullet as he left a Harding at Myers Park game.

- A West Charlotte-Garinger game at Memorial Stadium in 1993 was stopped after a fight in the stands broke out amid cries that someone had a gun.

- In 2001, police made four arrests after gunshots injured two people after a West Charlotte-Garinger game.

- In 2006, a fight broke out at East Mecklenburg after a game with Myers Park. One East Meck student and one from Garinger were beaten with a metal crutch after a group of spectators followed them to a church parking lot after the game. Police said the attack was gang-related.

CMS has responded quickly to incidents over the years.

In 1990, after the Myers Park student was shot and killed, school officials moved game times up 90 minutes, to 6 p.m., before low attendance forced a move back to 7:30.

In 1996, CMS added mandatory metal-detector checks for spectators at all football and basketball games.

In 2001, following the West Charlotte-Garinger incident, CMS permanently moved up the start times of games to 7 p.m.

System athletics director Vicki Hamilton met with Charlotte Catholic officials Monday morning and said CMS staff are devising a plan for Friday's Garinger-Olympic game as well as six other CMS home games.

"When you have a disruption at an athletic event," she said, "you're going to have to shore up what you need to do, what type of coverage you need to have. We're beginning to have those conversations now. This was an isolated incident. I know Garinger's players wanted their homecoming game to be special and so did the fans in the stands.

"Unfortunately, some people there - and I can't call them fans - decided they wanted to disrupt a football game. This reflects so badly on them and unfortunately, the carryover goes out to the school and community, and Garinger has done everything right this year as far as their stadium and security plan."

Olympic coach Shuford said he had not heard from any parents with any concerns about playing at Garinger. He called this week "business as usual."

"I never felt threatened when I coached there," he said. "My kids have been to that stadium since they were little. My son will be on the sideline Friday night. I think you have a bigger risk standing in the Wal-Mart parking lot at midnight trading film than any concern you have going to Garinger for a football game."