BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Varsity football returned Friday night following the deadly shooting at Independence High School, with new safety guidelines in place at stadiums across the area.<\/p>\n
The Liberty Patriots played on their home field against the Menlo-Atherton Bears. For many fans, it looked and sounded like any other Friday night under the lights \u2014 but one week after the shooting, safety was clearly top of mind.<\/p>\n
New security measures were in place, including a police presence and additional security at the stadium. Students had their school IDs checked at the entrance, and bags were searched.<\/p>\n
For some students, the extra precautions helped, but didn’t erase the fear.<\/p>\n
“A lot of our friends, like, don’t even want to go to the games anymore just because of like the risk now,” William Grajeda, a student at BCHS, said.<\/p>\n
“With the schools upping their security now at games, it’s like, scary,” Grajeda said.<\/p>\n
Others said the added precautions made them feel more comfortable returning.<\/p>\n
“It’s obvious there’s more law enforcement. They were peeking at us when we came in, so I think they should, they should feel safe and confident to come and have a good time on Friday night football,” Niki Reyes, a teacher at Liberty High School, said.<\/p>\n
Crowd turnout was strong, with the stands filled and fans cheering on their teams.<\/p>\n
“Looks like they had a little extra security and police presence out front, but I feel like as a whole, Bakersfield is a pretty safe city and I feel pretty safe here,” spectator Matthew Hudson Deford said.<\/p>\n
“The reason we’re out here is because we want to have fun, you know? No matter what happens, we’re just trying to make the best out of it,” Grajeda said.<\/p>\n
A week after a deadly shooting shook the high school football community, fans returned to the stands, determined to keep Friday night football a part of their community.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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