Ossining Football Puts Up a Good Fight, With No Off-Field Fan Violence

The rivalry between close neighbors can be the fiercest of all – and Saturday’s big football game in Sleepy Hollow between Ossining and Sleepy Hollow had both teams putting up a great fight; luckily fans restrained from any real fights of their own.

While the Ossining team didn’t end up on top in a battle that went back and forth, neck to neck, for hours, everyone seems to have declared it a successful day of good old fashioned football.

You couldn’t help but notice a heavy police presence at the game – K9 units and all – as the teams faced off.

Wanting to avoid any repeat of last year’s violent incident at the annual October football game between the historic rivals, school and team leaders got together for something of a peace summit to set a more positive tone pre-game.

Both teams' captains, along with the high school principals, athletic directors and head coaches met to “foster good sportsmanship on and off the field,” BOCES spokesperson Ellen Lane wrote in a press release on Patch.

“The dinner was great; we had a lot of fun,” said Justin Davidov, one of the Ossining team captains. “We have a lot of similarities. The schools are similar. The teams are similar. We have similar kids. We wanted to show that we can have a good rivalry but it doesn’t have to be a violent one.”

Last October, three Sleepy Hollow students, junior varsity players who were at the game held in Ossining, were found bloodied and bruised after an alleged attack by a group of almost 20 Ossining students.  

A more "positive sportsmanship" was the goal this time around. Ossining High School Principal Josh Mandel said of the meeting, “Our hope was to communicate that we are two great communities and to support positive sportsmanship. We have to show people what we want to happen.”

According to Sleepy Hollow Police Gregory Camp, those efforts paid off; he reported no incidents surrounding the game. “No issues or fights. A great day.”

Have photos from either the JV or Varsity Ossining football games vs. Sleepy Hollow this Saturday? Share them in our photo gallery.