The football season is over early for Sonoma Valley High School following a brawl during Friday night’s homecoming game against Petaluma.
Eleven Dragon players were ejected after the melee, an apparent reaction to late hits against Petaluma’s kickoff returner.
The fight broke out in the fourth quarter with Petaluma leading 35-14. After separating the player, officials convened a brief on-field meeting including the school principals.
The game was called and Petaluma declared the winner.
The mass ejections effectively ended Sonoma Valley’s season one game early. Because ejected players are ineligible for a team’s next game, the school decided to cancel next week’s season finale versus Vintage High School for lack of game-ready players.
And SVSD can justify a 1000 seat stadium complex for 2020 ? Where’s the Heisman hopefuls on the team going to come from ?
Better to spend 70% of those resources on teacher’s salaries & 30% on academic enrichment programs for the underprivileged youth in the Valley
Athletic fields (and pools and tennis courts and gymnasia) are merely classrooms. And these facilities aren’t created to reward success, but to teach. At the basest of levels, students who aren’t successful in math or who are struggling to learn English as their second language still deserve a worthy environment for learning. An auditorium that doesn’t swell with audiences for every school play or band music recital is no justification to withhold such a venue from students. The athletic fields at Sonoma Valley High School are among the least safe fields in Sonoma, Marin or Napa counties. Given this community’s wealth, that is a crime. Students deserve the best a community can give — in facilities, teachers, and experiences. Students at Sonoma Valley High School deserve better than this valley has done for them. Fortunately, enough of the voters in the area saw the need for new athletic facilities, and the bond to pay for the fields was approved. Given the number of students receiving free lunches at SVHS, many of the students who will benefit from the new athletic facilities are, indeed, the underprivileged youth of the valley. It’s time to get the facilities built.