Friday night’s football game against Paul Public Charter School was moved from the Jackson-Reed field after the stadium lights and scoreboard malfunctioned earlier in the week. The game was relocated to Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus at 6 p.m.

Director of Strategy and Logistics, Brandon Hall, explained that these problems arose on Monday, September 4, and that the Department of General Services (DGS) inspected the system to uncover the issue. 

Assistant Athletics Director Daniel Larios-Joya added that the issues stemmed from a bad breaker, a device that automatically regulates the flow of electricity. “The breaker just on the athletics [field went out] that’s what made it weird, it was only the lights on the stadium, the storage units, and the stuff we use for athletics.” 

“The lights were out, but it didn’t affect us as much as the heat wave,” football head coach Minoso Rodgers added lightheartedly. He explained that the issue delayed the start of practice. “We didn’t start until 6 p.m., and we were running out of daylight around 7:30 p.m.” 

Senior football captain Aidan Riley commented that the location change affected team morale, but they pushed forward. “It sucks, because we want to have the people here, watching and supporting, but you’ve got to do what you have to do,” Riley explained. “If the game gets moved, it gets moved.” 

This lack of stadium lights didn’t just affect the football team. Varsity boys frisbee captain and senior Matt Burris, added that the malfunction was frustrating, because it disrupted the momentum the frisbee team is trying to build as the season starts. 

“We have a lot of new players who are wanting to develop and learn,” Burris said. “It’s hard if we aren’t able to practice because it’s dark out.”

According to Larios-Joya, while DGS resolved the lights issue by Friday evening, the football game against the Paul Pirates stayed on the Cardozo field.