Oops! Lakota fireworks cause delay at Mason football game

Prep football is a lot louder this season in the Lakota school system.

And a little confusing for at least one neighboring school.

Butler County’s largest district is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the simultaneous opening of Lakota West and Lakota East high schools with fireworks at some home football games.

The Friday evening explosive booms can be heard for miles around Lakota West’s West Chester Twp. campus and Lakota East’s Liberty Twp. location.

And, surprisingly even farther at times, said Stu Eversole, former Lakota athletic director and now associate director of the Great Miami Conference.

At Lakota West’s Sept. 1 game against Cincinnati’s Withrow High School the sounds from pre-game fireworks reverberated about five miles away to GMC-rival Mason High School in Warren County.

The referees working Mason’s home football game mistook the distant booming for thunder and delayed kick-off of the Comet’s game by a half hour, said Eversole.

“It was a hoot,” he said chuckling, adding GMC officials didn’t figure out what had happened until days later.

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