Fans panic, rush court at Illinois game
ROCKFORD, Ill. — Scores of terrified fans stormed through the lobby doors and onto the court at a high school basketball game in Rockford on Wednesday night, creating mass confusion and eventually canceling the final 49 seconds of the contest.
The incident took place at Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois, located about 135 miles north of Peoria and 90 miles west of Chicago. Visiting Rockford Guilford won the game over Auburn, 54-47.
An hour after the incident, Rockford Public Schools said in a release the incident was sparked by adults who couldn’t get into the sold-out gym.
"Several adults were verbally arguing at the concession stand," the release read. "A pedestrian stanchion was knocked over and made a loud sound which caused confusion in the gym. Police and RPS staff responded. No RPS students were involved. All staff and students are safe. Police remained on scene until the game was over and all was clear.”
Bryan Ott, coach of the home team, huddled near the stairwell on the other side of the gym, holding his crying daughter.
“There were some people who were in tears like she was,” Ott said after police cleared the gym and fans were sent home.
“There were others that were mad and shaking. You saw the whole herd of people running.
“I didn’t have the first clue (what happened). We were in a time-out huddle and all of a sudden everybody is stampeding toward us . ... Our guys were smart enough to run. Since I can’t run anymore, I am just making my way there gradually, but I am looking for my wife and daughter. They got with me right away.”
Several police officers at the scene declined to comment. Later, four officers and a school administrator from both Auburn and Guilford said rumors that a gun was involved were false. Players got out of the way fast. “Once I see one person running, we all got the memo,” Guilford senior forward Michael Jalil said. “You’ve just got to get going after that.”
“Stuff like that shouldn’t happen,” Guilford all-conference guard Malachi Johnson said. “Everyone is trying to enjoy a good basketball game. Instead people want to ruin it by doing selfish things and ruining the experience for everybody else.”
In the 1990s, officials moved RPS football games to Saturday afternoons one year after a big fight in the stands. In the early 2000s, Auburn had to play its basketball games against East and Jefferson one season on Saturday afternoons because of altercations in the stands.
In August 2022, a high school football game between Peoria High and Metamora was canceled after a fight in the stands prompted a resources officer to strike the bleachers with a baton, the sound of which caused a panic and sent players and some fans running. Some on social media described the noises as "gunshots."
“I fear stuff like that,” Guilford’s Johnson said. “As kids, we want to enjoy ourselves. We want to enjoy these types of games. Packed house games. Playing in front of thousands of people. Stuff like that happens, and it ruins the experience and fun for everybody else.”
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.