'Large Physical Fight' After LTHS Football Game: Cops

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — A fight broke out between football players from Lyons Township and Proviso West high schools after Lyons Township's homecoming game earlier this month, authorities said.

Patch obtained the Western Springs police report through a public records request.

On Oct. 2, Lyons Township shut out Proviso West 63-0. Shortly after the game ended, a "large physical fight" started on the field primarily between players of the two teams, the report said. Officers at the game separated the players, police said.

An officer reported that a fight took place, in particular, between one Lyons Township player and an unknown Proviso West player "due to prior gang-related issues unknown to our agency."

When officers received that information, they deployed police department-issued rifles and told the school that they were placing the campus on a "soft" lockdown.

Shortly after the football fight, a woman told police she believed two men may have had a gun, but she did not see one. She said the men put on skull caps and walked toward the football field, police said.

The officers saw the two men approaching a black Chrysler parked in the school's north parking lot. The officers told the men to put their hands up. The men complied. Police said they did not raise their guns at the men.

In plain view, police said, two 9mm Glock handguns were seen in the Chrysler.

The men were identified as Demitrius R. Ross, 19, of Harvey, and Donny J. Starkes, 19, of Blue Island. Each was charged with one count of aggravated unlawful use of a firearm on school grounds, a felony. They were taken to the Cook County Jail.

As a result of the investigation, the homecoming dance on South Campus that night was canceled. It is rescheduled for Oct. 23.

In a news release after the incident, the school noted a "physical altercation" took place after the game. But it gave no indication that it involved football players.