Green Hope and Panther Creek have always been rival high schools as the result of being 2 miles away from each other along N.C Highway and being a part of “The Fight For 55”. The rivalry escalated on Tuesday night, January 28, around 9:15 pm. These rivals took the conflict to a whole new level with violence after Panther Creek’s basketball win. 

Dozens of students were involved in a massive brawl after the basketball game where Panther Creek won by 4 points, the final score reading 66-53. It’s unclear who started the fight, and why it occurred, but it was a massive blow to both schools because of the Code of Conduct violations. The principles of both Green Hope and Panther Creek agree that this kind of behavior won’t be accepted. 

The Cary Police got involved to break it up, and luckily, no one was injured or arrested. According to sources at ABC11, the principles of both the conflicting schools have said that the students involved will be punished and can face up to five days of suspension or longer. The principles are also now stressing the fact that school rivalries should be friendly competition and nothing more. They added that athletes should be both friendly and civil towards each other, even if they’re rivals. 

Many videos of the fights that started in the gym and spilled out to the parking lot and even to other locations in Cary have surfaced on all sorts of social media. The fights occurred after the men’s varsity game, and there are many different theories and rumors surrounding them. According to this WRAL article, the fight began in the commons area, but the large group of students expanded into the parking lot. Panther Creek even had extra security for the following game against Cary. 

 According to The News Observer, both Panther Creek and Green Hope principals say their students, “can be proud of our school while still showing respect for our competitors and their fans.” We hope that Green level is able to hold a friendly competition and set an example for others around us, rival or not.