Annandale Marching Band Kicked Off Field During Halftime Show, Say Students

The Annandale High School (AHS) Marching Band was ordered by football coaching staff to cut their performance short and "get off the field" during last Friday's football game against South County, according to the AHS student newspaper The A-Blast.

The game was Annandale's last football game of the season and their Senior Night. 

The student newspaper A-Blast reports the band was in the middle of performing during the halftime show when AHS Football Coach Mike Scott and other coaching staff yelled at AHS Band Director Adam Hilkert to end the performance early and “get the band off the field." Scott then shook the podium of one Assistant Drum Major and yelled at another to get off the field, according to the article.

"For the marching band, there couldn’t have been any more disrespect shown to us, the band staff, the band alumni who were present, and the students," the editorial states.

Read the full editorial here.

The reason for the request to end the show was so that the Atoms would avoid a 15-yard “unsportsmanlike” penalty for having the band on the field past the time allotted for halftime, the A-Blast reports. However, the story states the band had more than four minutes left to perform.

Additionally, the A-Blast reports AHS Principal Vincent Randazzo and AHS Director of Student Activities Karl Kerns discussed the halftime show running late prior to the game and South County agreed to allow it.

Several members of the Annandale and AHS community were outraged by the reports and, in the comments on the editorial, have called for Scott and the AHS administration to issue an apology.

"This is astounding. The administration should be ashamed if its behavior. It’s utterly disrespectful to do this to the marching band," reads one comment.

The A-Blast went on to call the incident "poor in taste" and "the worst kind of 'unsportsmanlike' behavior."

"While we understand the rules of the halftime time limit, the way this was handled by the coaching staff and by the Administration was flawed," the story states.

Requests to FCPS and AHS staff for comment on the incident were not returned.

The is the second time this month that the Marching Atoms have been in the news. The band recently won a state title at the USBands Mid-Atlantic States Championships.

Tell us: What do you think, Annandale? Were you at the Annandale vs. South County football game last week? Did you notice anything during the halftime show? 

For quick Annandale news updates, "like" Annandale Patch on Facebook and follow @annandalepatch on Twitter.