ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — When the band stopped playing during Rocky River's matchup with Mansfield, it didn't feel like a November playoff game.
On Friday, Rocky River officials announced that fans would not be allowed into the stadium. The move came after police investigated a threat to "shoot up" the football game originally scheduled to take place in Mansfield.
"It's unfortunate, because we love our city," Mansfield head coach Chioke Bradley said.
The game went on as normal between the lines, but outside the lines, everything changed.
"It's a shame," lamented Montrell Caldwell, a former player for coach Bradley.
Mansfield's marching band and cheerleaders were in attendance, cheering for the "home" team playing 60 miles from its normal stadium.
"We focus on the controllables," Bradley said. "We can't control what happens outside of our circle, our family."
The Division III game between the fifth-seeded Pirates and the fourth-seeded Tygers was supposed to take place at Mansfield's Arlin Field before officials announced Thursday that it would be moved to Rocky River, citing safety concerns. On Friday, just hours before kickoff, officials made public the reports of shooting threats and took the greater step of barring all fans (including family members) from attending, and Rocky River's band even decided to take the night off.
As the players and coaches prepared for the game, police officers from Rocky River and Mansfield prepared to provide security. Police vehicles blocked the entrances to the parking lot at Rocky River Stadium.
However, that didn't stop a number of family and friends from watching the game from outside.
"With the circumstances, you know, if the threats are bad, we want to at least be close to our son," Audrey Restelli, a parent of a student in Mansfield's band, told 3News.
Others who watched from outside the field included Caldwell, who recognized the significance of a playoff game for seniors.
"Some of these kids might never get a chance to put on that uniform again for their schools, their parents, grandparents," he noted.
Prior to learning about the threat against the game, police were also investigating a shooting threat against Mansfield Senior High School that forced the district to close all school buildings on Friday. A student was arrested in connection with the threat against the high school, though it is not known if that incident was related to the second threat against the game.
As for the matchup itself, the 10-2 Tygers beat the Pirates 55-21 to advance to next week's Region 10 semifinals against top-seeded Toledo Central Catholic. That game along with all remaining games in the OHSAA playoffs will be held at a neutral site that has not yet been determined.