Set to open its season Friday night at Weiss Field, the Waukegan High School football team was instead scheduled to play the game in Round Lake after two nonfatal shootings were reported earlier this week. One was within a half-mile of the stadium.
The Bulldogs were set to open their season against Round Lake High School in Round Lake after Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 and Round Lake School District 116 officials reached agreement in the wake of the recent violence.
Nick Alatzakis, the District 60 communications director, said after learning of the second shooting Wednesday after one Monday, district officials reached out to their counterparts in Round Lake to learn if the game could be moved.
“They were very accommodating, and we worked something out quickly,” Alatzakis said. “There were two shootings in recent days, and we acted because of that. This was a precaution in response to the increased violence in the community.
“You listen to your experts and follow their advice,” he said.
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor did not comment directly on the two shootings which prompted District 60 to move the game, but offered support for moving the game.
“I respect the decision by the school district in accessing what is in the best interest of our students,” Taylor said in an email.
Earlier in the week, police responded to a report of people in two vehicles exchanging gunfire Monday in the 0-100 block of McAree Road, less than a half-mile from Weiss Field and even closer to the Brookside campus of the high school, according to a Waukegan police department news release.
A man, 22, sustained a graze wound to the head from gunfire, according to the release. A firearm along with multiple shell casings of various calibers were found at the scene.
Two women were seriously wounded in a shooting Wednesday at a gas station in the 1000 block of Golf Road, according to the release. They underwent surgery and were expected to be treated and released from area hospitals. Multiple shell casings were found at the gas station, as well as damage to a vehicle and a nearby home from gunshots.
Though Friday’s varsity game was moved to Round Lake, Alatzakis said the freshman contest will be played at 9 a.m. Saturday at Weiss Field in Waukegan. Though games were moved in the past from Friday night to Saturday for safety reasons, keeping the opener on Friday was the preference.
The Bulldogs travel to Maine West in Des Plaines for their next game Sept. 1 and return home to play Lake Forest Sept. 9 at Weiss Field. Alatzakis said no decisions have been made about the location of that contest.
“We prefer out student athletes experience a home game atmosphere,” he said. “If appropriate, we’ll make that call when we get closer to the event.”
With a game scheduled against Zion-Benton Township High School Sept. 29, Alatzakis said the time and place will be in the hands of Zion-Benton High School District 16 officials.
Alatzakis said that in the past, football games between Waukegan and Zion-Benton have been played during the day on Saturday rather than Friday night. Crowds were limited at some basketball games in the past because of concerns of violence from the community spilling over into the schools.
