PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — "Most of our families come, and we want to be able to play and know that our families are safe," says Senior Jose Perez.
Perez has played football at Fort Valley High School all four years, and he says football is about community. This season he says he's coming for a state ring.
"I just want to win it for the community," he adds
Guests will walk through metal detectors before taking the stands.
And new rules include:
- no reentry
- no large gatherings around bathrooms or concessions
- and no bookbags
Only clear plastic or vinyl bags will be allowed and they can be no larger than 12" x 6". Small clutches no larger than 5" by 7" are also permitted.
"If everybody is in a seat enjoying the football game, not running around gathering, bringing in stuff that may harm themselves or others, that's all we ask," says Fort Valley High School Athletic Director Greg Ellison.
Ellison says safety hasn't been a concern for peach county, but they are doing this as a preventive measure.
"We're trying to get ahead of the game, as far as other things that have been going on in other counties, so if we can get ahead of it and prevent it we won't have that problem," he adds.
Wade Yoder is a Fort Valley gym owner, member of the high school governance team, and Trojan football supporter.
"Through the gym, I've has a lot of students come through here," Yoder says.
He says in an era of mental health struggles, having good security calms everyone down.
"It makes you really regret it when you know that you weren't proactive in advance and something that you could've wound up happening because of that, so I think we're all thankful that we have a team that's working hard to keep our teachers and students safe," Yoder adds.
The new safety procedure will begin this Friday, at Peach County's game against Northside.
Ellison recommends arriving at 6:30 to allow time to get through safety checks.