Montgomery County

Montgomery County High School Coaches, Athletic Director Fired After Football Game Brawl

The positions of the head and assistant football coach at Northwest High School and the athletic director at Gaithersburg High School will be vacated, the school system says

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Top athletic staffers at both Gaithersburg High School and Northwest High School have been fired nearly a month after violence erupted at a football game.

The Gaithersburg High School Athletic Specialist position and the head coach and assistant coach positions at Northwest High School will be vacated, the principals of both schools said in a letter sent to parents and students on Wednesday. All of three of the staffers will remain in those positions through the rest of the football season and school officials will make announcements about the process to fill the openings later this year, according to the letter.

On Sept. 16, a fight on the field between the schools' football teams led to the forfeiting of two games for both teams. After the game was called off, another clash among police and spectators led to assault charges against six juveniles and a 19-year-old man.

Northwest High School Head Coach Travis Hawkins was placed on a 24-day suspension while the school system conducted an investigation.

William Gant, the athletic director for Gaithersburg High School, filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Hawkins after the brawl.

Hawkins told News4 on Tuesday that the investigation has led him to do some soul searching.

"I feel like everything that I've been working to build has just been thrown away," Hawkins said. "I want to apologize to my school. I want to apologize to my community. I want to apologize to the admin. My kids know that I don't condone violence. I don't condone myself with unsportsmanlike conduct."

The fight resulted in strict new safety rules for spectators at games.

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