Eanes school district administrators reached a compromise with parents who wanted to continue the practice allowing middle-school students to rush the field after home football games before the popular Westlake High School v. Austin High School football game Friday.

Middle school students were allowed to enter the field directly from the pit area reserved for them after the game, thanks to the efforts of more than 40 volunteers who stood their posts between the end field and the 40-yard line and made sure students entered the area in a controlled manner.

The practice of secondary students running onto the field from the “Pit” area had become a community tradition, but Superintendent Nola Wellman had banned the activity after a student was hurt earlier in the season. West Ridge Middle School student Cody Allen shattered his elbow in two places when he fell during the rushing of the field after a recent home WHS football game.

West Ridge Middle School principal Karl Waggoner told school board members at an Oct. 28 meeting that the pit area set aside for district middle school students to attend home games under the watchful eyes of district staff was a safe place for students.

“Where we lose the ability to keep our kids safe is where they rush the field at the end of the game,” Waggoner said.

Parents spoke to board members during open session at the school board meeting, voicing reaction to the district ban on students rushing the stadium field. Waggoner and principals from other secondary principals had asked the district to ban the practice, rerouting middle school students instead up through the stands to access the field after football games.

Several parents attending last week’s board meeting asked board members to reconsider that change and work to find a safe way for middle school students to go onto the field from the pit area in a safe manner.

“I’m all for safety; all I ask is that you consider an alternate way for (middle school students) to get to the field than to have them go through the parking lot and stands,” said Eric Level, the father of a varsity football player. “The reality is that most of them don’t make it to the field then.”

Kathy Allen, the mother of the student hurt earlier in the season, also spoke in support of continuing the field tradition.

“I understand it is a tradition,” she said. “I want for it to stay, but I want for it to be safe.”

Students in the pit area had to enter the field through an opening at the back of the end zone after the Austin High game last weekend, said board member Clint Sayers. He said more than 50 parents came down to the field to make sure students followed the rules.

Sayers said the process, directed by Waggoner, worked well after the most recent football game – kids and parents got to the field and no one was hurt.

Administrators will again examine the district’s policy regarding the middle-school pit area and how students there access the football field after games next year. But, for now, students, parents and nervous administrators are happy with compromise used for the last football game of the season.

“The kids were just happy to get onto the field, and that’s the whole point,” Sayers said.