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Jed Boal Reporting A Wasatch Front rivalry boiled over this fall. Now school leaders are huddling to make sure they don't see a repeat performance.
Players and parents got caught up in the rivalry in Ogden, and one game had an ugly ending.
We all learn sportsmanship at an early age. The state puts out a sportsmanship handbook. But rivalries can get out of hand.
Many of us cling to a football rivalry.
In high school, rivalries let students blow off steam and forge lasting memories.
A rivalry can also fuel vandalism, fist-fights and bad behavior, as it did last month in the Iron Horse showdown between Ogden High School and Ben Lomond High School.
Dave Wilkey/Utah High School Activities Association, Asst. Exec. Dir.: "We want parents and fans to act appropriately. We want parents to be fans and not fanatics."
The week of the game, students at both schools vandalized school buildings and egged and spray painted cars in the lots.
The schools' principals say the rivalry is much more than just bragging rights.
Ed Jenson/ Ogden High School Principal: "It's a community issue as much as it is a high school issue."
By game time..
Benjamin Smith/Ben Lomond High School Principal: "It was a typical rivalry game where emotions were high."
Students and parents screamed at coaches.
Dennis Dalton/Ogden High School Football Coach: "Some parents came down and started yelling at my wife and daughter. They even blamed my daughter for losing all the ball games this season. Just things that are totally out of hand."
The Ben Lomond Scots beat the Ogden Tigers 25-0, compounding two tough seasons for the Tigers.
As the players shake hands after the game, an Ogden player grabs the face mask of a Ben Lomond player and rips off the helmet. Another player hits him in the back.
Benjamin Smith/Ben Lomond High School Principal: "We have a tendency as a community and players, we make it bigger than just a game."
Other players and spectators get in on the shoving. The coaches break it up.
Ed Jenson/ Ogden High School Principal: "There are great things about that rivalry. It gets kids worked up, it gets fans excited, it energizes the community. But if it turns cancerous, then I think we need to take a look at what is it as a community that we have allowed to grow, and how do we correct it."
The schools do not plan any discipline.
A neutral location or a day game could be considered next year.
