150 Involved in Melee at Youth Football Game

ALISO VIEJO —  A melee broke out Saturday night at the conclusion of a junior high school football game, as about 150 players, parents and spectators clashed on the field.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department dispatched 17 cars and a helicopter unit to Aliso Niguel High School at 9:15 p.m. Saturday to break up the fight.

Details were sketchy, but Lt. Fred Lisanti said the fighting began just as the game between all-star junior high school football teams from Los Angeles and Orange counties was ending about 9 p.m.

Paramedics and fire crews were also dispatched to the high school as a precaution. But Lisanti said no one was treated for injuries at the scene and no arrests were made.

The Sheriff’s Department first received calls about the melee from spectators with cellular phones.

“When we got there, we tried to pull people apart and let them leave the scene,” Lisanti said. “There was a lot of pushing and shoving and hitting,” but no weapons were apparently involved.

“From what we understand, the team that lost took exception to the winning team that I guess was high-fiving and bragging about the game,” Lisanti said. “First, words were exchanged. . . . Then, they started fighting.”

Parents and other spectators cleared the stands and joined the teams on the field. “Everyone started fighting with each other,” Lisanti said. “The parents, the coaches, everyone got involved.”

It took sheriff’s deputies 10 to 20 minutes to break up the melee, he said.

“It’s a serious situation. We are still trying to sort it all out,” Lisanti added. “When you go into a situation like that, you don’t know if people are armed or what they are going to do.”

Lisanti said no sheriff’s deputies were injured.