CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Lorain County Conference showdown Friday night that could have ultimately decided its eventual champion will not happen.
Clearview (3-0) had been scheduled to host Keystone (2-1) in their LCL opener, but the schools announced Thursday it has been canceled because of threats of violence at Clearview, which led to school being canceled earlier this week.
Keystone’s athletic department posted the following Thursday on the social media platform X:
“Due to the ongoing threats and school closings at Clearview Schools the Keystone @ Clearview varsity football game for Friday night has been cancelled. Saturday morning JV game has also been cancelled. I will be looking for a possible JV opponent to replace Clearview.”
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Clearview has canceled multiple athletic events or moved them to alternative sites for both its high school and adjacent Durling Middle School.
According to the (Elyria) Chronicle-Telegram, which cited a press release from Clearview schools, a bomb threat had been received by the school. Lorain High School also canceled classes earlier this week because of a threat of gun violence. Additionally, classes at the Lorain County JVS — which has students from Clearview and Keystone — had been canceled this week because of violence.
Both Clearview’s Mike Collier, his school’s coach and athletic director, and Keystone Don Griswold told the Morning Journal there are no plans to reschedule or move Friday night’s football game, which had been slated for Tom Hoch Field. Instead, they are shifting their focus to next week. Clearview will be at Oberlin (0-3), while Keystone will be at Columbia (2-1), which shared last year’s LCL title with the Clippers, who reached the OHSAA Division V regional semifinals.
Friday’s cancelation is the latest in a surge of violent threats and events around Northeast Ohio.
John Adams canceled its football game last week in Cleveland vs. visiting Elmore Woodmore, which is based in Sandusky County, because of gunshots fired off campus during a fight between two students. A week before that, a shooting in Euclid occurred an hour after that school’s football game in which a 17-year-old boy was killed and four others injured.
Last year, several schools moved or canceled football games after receiving threats of violence.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on X (@mgoul), Threads (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]).