Competition Meets Charity

By: Maddy Lantz

The annual Battle for Broad Street is so much more than just a football game. Not only is it the busiest Friday night game of the year, but it’s also the most heavily monitored and has the highest fund raising of any other event.

The Battle for Broad Street game has more security than any other games. The deputies were assigned and given instructions to maintain a certain area that our school resource officer, Deputy Maddux, assigned to them. They were instructed to stay vigilant and aware. You may be wondering why this game’s security is taken far more seriously, and Deputy Maddux was kind enough to give us those reasons. Past events have raised concern; such as fights- between both girls and boys from opposing teams. Because of past violence and even threats, instead of the usual 4 officers surrounding the stands, there are 6 at the Watkins v. Heights game.

When asked why tensions are so high the week of Battle for Broad, Deputy Maddux stated, “We all run the same circles which creates great friendships, but even greater enemies.” Regardless of whether it was because of great friendships, great enemies, or a heated rivalry, this game was the biggest turn out of the season, which is why security was enforced to keep the opposing teams separated.

Competition doesn’t just stop at football, it goes beyond that. This year, WMHS had a goal for all donations, and we exceeded it excessively, all thanks to competition within our own school between classes. WMHS alone brought in 8,207, which is only about ⅓ of the district's total, which was 28,433. Thanks to the competitive rivalry, we were able to beat heights, who only had about 15,000 donations. We also beat Heights in the Blood Drive donation competition for the first time this year.

The Battle for Broad Street is a competition that might cause tensions, but the competition also brings the community together to help each other out.

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