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Sandy • Principal Brian McGill estimates thousands of dollars of damage was caused at Alta High when obscenities and vulgar images were spray-painted on the building, sidewalks, stadium and sheds the night before Alta and rival Corner Canyon were scheduled to face off in football for the first time.
Corner Canyon Principal Mary Bailey confirmed vandalism in the same form and style occurred on that campus, too, but not to the extent of the damage at Alta. She said an investigation is underway and that "we should be able to wrap something up today."
"We try not to let the kids who do the vandalism glorify in it, so the sooner we can get it cleaned up and get back to school, the better it is for all of us," Bailey said. "We quickly addressed it and tried to focus getting our kids to class."
Anticipation for the rivalry game has been three years in the making. Corner Canyon inherited large chunks of Alta's population when it opened three years ago. The Hawks competed in the 5A classification for the past two seasons before moving down to Class 4A in the same region as the Chargers this year.
"This week we've been really trying to build up a healthy rivalry between both schools by doing a joint fundraising effort for the Utah food bank," McGill said. "We're trying to make this a fun rivalry, and I think that's what it will be, but it was disappointing to come in this morning to see our school got tagged."
McGill said they were "taking all of the precautions necessary" for the 7 p.m. game at Alta.
"We've got six police offers from Sandy. We've got four from Draper," McGill said. "We've got our entire administrative team; we've got Corner Canyon's administrative team. We anticipate we'll get a lot of people here tonight, but I see this as being a healthy rivalry for many years to come. … We need to be a class act. This is all about a football game and an athletic event, and that's where it needs to reside. Healthy competition. Either win or lose, we need to play with dignity and sportsmanship."
Both Alta (6-3) and Corner Canyon (3-5) are 3-2 in Region 7 play.
The winner will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed, while the loser will still qualify for the fourth and final spot.
"We talked to them about not letting this deter them from our game plan and our approach to the game," Alta coach Alema Te'o said. "I'm sure it will add fuel to the fire. We got to deal with it. I guarantee you this: We will be ready tonight."
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