VIRGINIA BEACH — A large crowd showed up at Kempsville High on a beautiful Thursday evening to see the Chiefs host fourth-ranked Green Run in the football season opener for both teams.
But the excitement of the game was lost when gunfire was heard in a nearby neighborhood, and the game was halted in the fourth quarter. After a 45-minute delay, the game was called.
Guns shot heard at Green Run-Kempsville game. Fans and players sprinting to safety as game is stopped. No decision yet pic.twitter.com/hqgZmze0PN
— Larry Rubama (@LHRubama) August 25, 2023
With Green Run leading 34-14 with 5:57 left in the game, gunshots could be heard in close proximity of the school, sending fans and players scattering for safety. The Stallions football team hustled toward their locker room, while Kempsville players and coaches raced to the other side of the stadium as police officers scrambled to find the source of the gunfire.
Several police officers and administrators confirmed the shooting didn’t happen on campus, but instead occurred in a nearby neighborhood. More than 10 police cars and many officers could be seen in and around Kempsville High.
“It’s very heartbreaking because kids on both teams worked so hard to get to this point,” said Green Run coach Brandon Williams. “And to have someone take it away from them that wasn’t involved in the game, you know, that’s a hard thing to take.”
Kempsville coach Daryl Cherry also was stunned by the turn of events.
“Both teams just want to compete and play the game of football,” he said. “This takes the fun out of the family atmosphere and for everybody to enjoy the moment. It was a packed house. It’s just sad to see. You know it should be a fun time to just be able to compete and the best team wins.”
The gunfire ruined what had been an entertaining night of football that began with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Kempsville, which graduated more than 20 seniors, battled the heavily-favored Stallions early as the Chiefs took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Sawyer Whitmore’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Ryley McIntosh.
The Stallions, who have now won 23 consecutive Beach District regular-season games, tied the game on quarterback K’Saan Farrar’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Quali Price.
Green Run running back Quran Reames-Jones scored on a 21-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7. And then Farrar, a first-year starter, threw two more touchdowns passes to help give the Stallions a comfortable 27-7 halftime lead.
Green Run scores again before the half on TD pass from K’Saan Farrar to Keylen Adams. Green Run 27, Kempsville 7 pic.twitter.com/SS5F7KPNUP
— Larry Rubama (@LHRubama) August 25, 2023
Both teams added another score before the game was called.
“We came out with the intensity that we wanted to come out with,” Williams said. “We played and fought hard in the first half, then we kind of took our foot off the gas in the second half … We bend but we don’t break. And we’ll continue to get better each and every week.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, [email protected] Follow @LHRubama on Twitter
