Shenandoah Valley School District will screen every fan and ban most bags at Friday’s District XI Class 2A semifinal against Northern Lehigh.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The district first put similar rules in place for its Oct. 24 game against Williams Valley.
Everyone attending will be screened before entering. Entry is one way, so anyone who leaves cannot get back in, and no one will be admitted after the end of the second quarter.
Backpacks, bookbags, large bags, and other non-essential bags are banned. The only bag allowed is a small clutch or wristlet no larger than 6.5 inches by 4.5 inches. Clothing, blankets, and cameras are permitted if carried loosely. Diaper bags, strollers, walkers, and other medically necessary items are allowed after a detailed search.
The measures follow a stabbing during a fight near the concession stand at Veterans Memorial Stadium during Shenandoah Valley’s home game against Schuylkill Haven in early October.
State Police charged Jose Nunez-Ovando, 42, of Frackville, and later amended the charges to include attempted homicide. Police say Nunez-Ovando, the father of one of the kids involved in the fight, stabbed a juvenile in the abdomen and groin with a folding knife. The victim suffered a punctured liver and a collapsed lung and was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.
Nunez-Ovando told police he took the knife from someone who punched him during the fight and handed it over when a school resource officer asked who had a knife.
He also faces charges of aggravated assault, possessing a weapon on school property, simple assault, disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment, and harassment. He is being held without bail at Schuylkill County Prison. A preliminary hearing on the charges was continued last week until December.
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