A Joint Message from the Principals of Springbrook, Blake, and Paint Branch High Schools

This message was updated on Monday, Sept. 22, to clarify the actions taken by Montgomery County Police during their response to the incident.

Dear Springbrook, James H. Blake, and Paint Branch High School Communities,

We, the principals of our three schools, write to you today regarding the serious and troubling incidents that occurred following the football game between Blake and Springbrook on Friday evening. After the game ended, school security teams were alerted to a potential conflict and began escorting students to their vehicles. Despite these proactive efforts, a small fight broke out on the hill leading to the stadium parking lot. While staff worked to break up that altercation, a larger fight began near the gym area involving multiple students from all three schools.

To help disperse the crowd, a Montgomery County Police officer pointed a pepper-ball device toward the ground and performed a “dry fire”—meaning no pepper balls were released. Instead, the device produced a loud “air-pop” sound, which successfully encouraged people to leave the area. Additional officers quickly arrived to provide extra support as attendees exited the event. Administrators and security staff are now reviewing camera footage and airdropped videos to identify everyone involved.

As a reminder, MCPS athletics is currently operating under Tier One protocols, which means that only students from the two participating schools are permitted to attend athletic events. We will be reviewing our own processes—particularly checking student IDs at entry—to ensure that we are consistently following our safety plan and preventing unauthorized attendance that could lead to incidents like this.

We want to be very clear that we strongly condemn the dangerous and disruptive behavior that took place. Fighting, causing injury, and creating unsafe conditions for others will never be tolerated. These actions put students, staff, and families at risk and undermine the safe, supportive environment we strive to maintain at all school events. Disciplinary actions will be taken against any individuals determined to have participated in or instigated these events.

Athletics in MCPS are designed to promote school spirit, teamwork, and positive engagement. Every week, hundreds of students across the county participate in contests and demonstrate the sportsmanship expected through the MCPS R.A.I.S.E. core values. We will be reinforcing these expectations with our students, and we ask you to do the same at home by discussing appropriate behavior at school-sponsored events.

In the coming days, we will work together and with our central office partners to review what occurred and to enhance safety measures for upcoming events. You can learn more about the MCPS Fall 2025 Athletics Safety Plan here.

Thank You