Rockford-area soccer game ends after fans and players leave in panic. Here's how it happened

Friday night's football game between Harlem and Auburn ended with a stampede of fans and players running from the Harlem High School football stadium after a fight broke out in the crowd.

Players from both teams ran off the field while spectators ran from the stands to their cars in the parking lot.

Officials said a fight between two teenagers involved several people and police were called to break it up.

Players from both teams left the field four minutes before the end of the fourth quarter on Friday night and scurried up the grassy hill opposite the stands at Clyde F. Peterson Stadium.

“Our student section started to empty out, and panic spread from there,” Harlem coach Jim Morrow said after play was suspended with Harlem leading 20-6. “I'm not an expert on what happened. I didn't see anything going on behind the stands. It was just a panicked reaction. Our guys saw what was happening, and we just tried to get everyone to safety.”

More: The basketball game in Rockford is abruptly ended after fans fled in panic. This is how it happened

For five minutes, officials in the press box had been talking about a fight behind the stands. They tried to break up the fight on their own. When that didn't work, they called the police.

Shortly before the police arrived, another fight broke out between the two girls. The unrest spread to the stands and then to the pitch.

No shots were fired, but witnesses reported police using a taser. Officers placed one of the two girls in the back seat of a police vehicle. Eventually, more than 20 police cars arrived at the scene.

Auburn coach Leroy McFadden said he had “no idea” what scared his players so much that they left the field.

“I just turned around to look for my family,” McFadden said. “When everyone was running, I got my team off the field and looked for my family. I'm responsible for them. I don't know what happened, but when everyone's running in your direction, that means you're running too.”

“It was pretty scary. My seven-year-old was out here. He was nervous and scared and crying. These kids just don't understand the value of life. Hopefully they caught the perpetrator.”

After a 30-minute delay, the game was officially suspended. It is scheduled to resume at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Auburn could be undermanned.

“A lot of my kids have to work,” McFadden said. “A lot of my kids are doing college tours. I don't know. I have to see. It's not fun.”

A similar mass panic occurred in January at a basketball game at Auburn High School, when a loud noise from the crowded hallway outside the gym was mistaken for gunshots, causing players and fans to flee in panic.

Matt Trowbridge is a sports reporter for the Rockford Register Star. You can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @MattTrowbridge.

This article originally appeared in the Rockford Register Star: Rockford-area fans and players run from stadium after brawl breaks out