A B-CC student allegedly “jumped” a Whitman senior in downtown Bethesda after last night’s football game between the rival schools, sparking a series of brawls that involved at least eight students and a Montgomery County Police officer.

At approximately 7:49 p.m., a B-CC senior struck a Whitman senior from behind on a sidewalk outside the Chipotle on Old Georgetown Road, according to the Whitman student and a bystander. Then, at least eight other students pushed the Whitman student to the ground and proceeded to punch, kick and curse at them, the student said.

In 2019, The Black & White reported on a pattern of increasingly violent altercations outside the Bethesda Chipotle in the hours following football games between the two schools. After police removed 12 students from Whitman’s homecoming game due to aggressive behavior, Whitman and B-CC administrators announced on Monday that this year’s Battle of Bethesda would take place an hour and a half earlier than in previous years.

Football player Jacob Gaum, a junior, said that the fight didn’t shock him and he believes that the altercations will remain popular after intense games.

“I am not surprised because the fights have been going on for a while,” Gaum said. “This won’t affect the actual rivalry.”

Video recordings of the altercations obtained by The Black & White depict at least two separate altercations; one outside the Chipotle and another in the Bethesda Metro station bus loop. In the first fight, the Whitman student fled the scene immediately, while in the second altercation, a Montgomery County Police officer appeared to throw two students back in an effort to disperse them. 

After a brawl at a Sept. 16 football game between Northwest and Gaithersburg High Schools led to the temporary suspension of both teams and the firing of two coaches, MCPS announced new countywide safety measures for high school sporting events. The new measures prohibit entry or re-entry after halftime and require students from non-competing schools to be accompanied by an adult.

Hours after the downtown Bethesda altercation, the puck dropped at an ice hockey game between the rival schools at the Rockville Ice Rink. Students reported an enhanced unarmed security presence at the venue and restrictions that prohibited Whitman students from exiting the stands until the B-CC student spectators had already departed. Security and police required students to remain inside their vehicles in the parking lot and to leave immediately following the game. 

Football player Tom Alvaro, a senior, said that he expected Friday’s fight and doubts that any extra safety measures will help the situation. 

“I think the people getting into these fights expect it’s going to happen and put [themselves] in the positions to get hurt,” Alvaro said. “This rivalry is a tradition; everyone knows about the fights that happen after the football game every year. The police try to prevent it but can’t.”