HANOVER – The clock wound down, players and officials headed to locker rooms, and then hundreds of residents flooded the field at Randy Baughman Stadium.
It was a mix of children and adults, bundled in rain gear as a result of the steady drizzle all night long. They gathered at midfield, knelt and recited the Lord's Prayer.
The prayer was in response to two recent letters the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent Licking Valley Superintendent Dave Hile, alleging the district might have violated the Constitution through potentially religious band T-shirts and a football-team prayer.
If coaches are no longer allowed to stand by while players lead prayer, residents will step in, said Melanie Fitzgerald-Klein, who organized the event.
"It was just about getting the community together and supporting the school," Fitzgerald-Klein said. "I know the boys could pray on their own ... but I wanted to show our staff and our coaches and all the faculty that we support them."
The foundation is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting nontheism and the separation of church and government. The group gets about 2,500 complaints a year and typically sends out about 1,000 letters similar to the ones sent to Licking Valley, Rebecca Markert, the attorney who drafted the letters, told The Advocate in September.
Most of the complaints deal with religion in public schools, and most are resolved without going to court, Markert said.
The Panthers lost to Watkins Memorial 9-7 on Friday night, with Watkins intercepting a last-ditch pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. School officials were clear that fans had to wait until the opposing team and officials left the field — citing safety concerns — but then residents were freely allowed to gather on the turf.
Some wore shirts with me message, "WE ARE LV. WE PRAY Salvation," written in red and blue, designed specifically for the event.
Michelle Kreager wore a white shirt with blue lettering: "Stand up, stand strong, Amen!" Someone made the shirts and passed them out for free at the game, Kreager said.
Kreager is a 1988 LVHS graduate. To her, prayer is simply a part of the Valley community, and she finds it ridiculous that a group based in Wisconsin might have an issue with that.
"This is who we are in the Valley," Kreager said. "As long as people are here, there's going to be prayer."
It's not about excluding people who aren't Christians, Kreager said, but it's about supporting each other.
When Fitzgerald-Klein started organizing the event, she was surprised at the response, she said. There were a few negative comments, but most of what she heard was supportive, she said.
When she saw how many people showed up Friday night, despite the rain, she was shocked.
"I didn't think a lot of people would turn out, but then it just rolled and snowballed," she said. "It was just nice to get the community together. I'm pleased how it turned out."
After the amen in the Lord's Prayer, the crowd let out a cheer, standing and clapping together. Then someone started the chant: "We are!" And the crowd responded: "LV!"
