A high school football game between Peoria High School and Metamora High School was halted after a fight broke out in the home stands, sending fans into a panic.
Metamora administration on Friday said in a statement that its football team would "not resume the game," and wished Peoria "all the best" for the 2022 season.
Peoria was leading Metamora 34-16 with 8 minutes left in the second quarter when the fight broke out. Loud popping noises were also heard near the grandstands, at which point Metamora head coach Jared Grebner pulled his team off the field. Peoria players followed suit.
While some on social reported that the noises were gunshots, they were actually the result of a resource officer striking the bleacher with a baton in an effort to break up the fight.
"(The baton) made a noise that was interpreted as something else," Peoria coach Tim Thornton Journal Star, "and kind of caused a panic and everybody took off running."
Metamora administrators said the noises "created alarm and panic in the stadium," and the school will offer counseling services to any students who might be struggling with the events surrounding Friday's game.
As a result of the fight, Saturday's game between Manual and Peoria Notre Dame was played with limited spectators.
