RAVENNA, Ohio -- This is rival week for the town of Ravenna. The week leading up to the local high school's arch rival football game against the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders.
Anyone who has lived here for any length of time understands the rivalry and what it means to the community.
"When there is the big game between Kent and Ravenna everyone is there for sure" Rasheedah Wahid told Fox 8 News. A Ravenna resident now, both of her children went to school at Kent Roosevelt.
"They have the pep rally up at the stadium before they play each other and there's kids everywhere dressed up and painted" said Jennifer Keading who says she can hear the roar of the crowd from her home.
Over the years residents say kids from Kent have come to Ravenna and left signs, toilet papered homes. But on Thursday what school employees found spray painted on the walls outside of their school was destructive and vulgar.
Spray painted in at least six different locations were the words 'Kent Riders' and other messages too vulgar to repeat.
The district has already spent more than $500 cleaning up what they can, and called in a company from Cleveland to try and erase some of the messages painted in sandstone that so far have been resistant to chemicals and sandblasting.
"Its a big rivalry game and there's a lot of enthusiasm for the game, and unfortunately somebody got a little carried away with their enthusiasm" Superintendent Dt. Tim Calfee tells Fox 8 News.
"The police have been called in and they are investigating. Enthusiasm doesn't allow illegal acts and damaging and vandalism"
Some residents attribute the graffiti to 'kids being kids' but at the school, senior Mary Sanders says she was very offended
"They took it too far and put cuss words... and wrote it all over the school." Sanders told Fox 8.
"Usually they just write something like rough riders and go, or T.P.. the school."
Sanders said the Ravenna High School now has surveillance cameras watching the property and students have been warned if they try to retaliate by going to Kent and doing something similar they face suspension or expulsion if they are caught.
Administrators at Ravenna say they have been called by representatives of the Kent City School District apologizing, and that both districts were cooperating with police. Fox 8 left messages with administrators in Kent but the calls were not returned.
Dr. Calfee believes whoever was responsible will eventually brag about what they did and was optimistic police would be able to find out who it was.
"Vandalism and the damaging of property is crime, and if we find who did it, of course we'll prosecute."
Anyone who has lived here for any length of time understands the rivalry and what it means to the community.
"When there is the big game between Kent and Ravenna everyone is there for sure" Rasheedah Wahid told Fox 8 News. A Ravenna resident now, both of her children went to school at Kent Roosevelt.
"They have the pep rally up at the stadium before they play each other and there's kids everywhere dressed up and painted" said Jennifer Keading who says she can hear the roar of the crowd from her home.
Over the years residents say kids from Kent have come to Ravenna and left signs, toilet papered homes. But on Thursday what school employees found spray painted on the walls outside of their school was destructive and vulgar.
Spray painted in at least six different locations were the words 'Kent Riders' and other messages too vulgar to repeat.
The district has already spent more than $500 cleaning up what they can, and called in a company from Cleveland to try and erase some of the messages painted in sandstone that so far have been resistant to chemicals and sandblasting.
"Its a big rivalry game and there's a lot of enthusiasm for the game, and unfortunately somebody got a little carried away with their enthusiasm" Superintendent Dt. Tim Calfee tells Fox 8 News.
"The police have been called in and they are investigating. Enthusiasm doesn't allow illegal acts and damaging and vandalism"
Some residents attribute the graffiti to 'kids being kids' but at the school, senior Mary Sanders says she was very offended
"They took it too far and put cuss words... and wrote it all over the school." Sanders told Fox 8.
"Usually they just write something like rough riders and go, or T.P.. the school."
Sanders said the Ravenna High School now has surveillance cameras watching the property and students have been warned if they try to retaliate by going to Kent and doing something similar they face suspension or expulsion if they are caught.
Administrators at Ravenna say they have been called by representatives of the Kent City School District apologizing, and that both districts were cooperating with police. Fox 8 left messages with administrators in Kent but the calls were not returned.
Dr. Calfee believes whoever was responsible will eventually brag about what they did and was optimistic police would be able to find out who it was.
"Vandalism and the damaging of property is crime, and if we find who did it, of course we'll prosecute."
