Football games at Richard Montgomery include the student section, halftime performances from the marching band and Poms, and the varsity football team. “[An] active student section and a lot of people in the student section are super important for football games,” junior Allie Kelley said.

Traditionally, varsity football games occur on Friday nights. However, in the past few years, more games have been moved to Thursday nights. For the 2024-2025 varsity football season, there are five Thursday nights scheduled: Sept. 19, Sept. 26, Oct. 10, Oct. 17, and Oct. 24. 

In past years, many football games were moved to Thursday nights due to a shortage of referees. MCPS, along with many other counties, has had trouble finding referees after COVID-19, and the repercussions of the pandemic are still felt today. 

Football games have also led to violence among students in MCPS. In September 2023, after a rivalry football game between Bethesda Chevy-Chase and Walter Johnson High School, some students were involved in a fight outside of the Bethesda Metro Center. 

Police and school administration from both schools got involved, further leading to greater collaboration between MCPS athletics and MCPS security and police. The incident led to more football games being moved to Thursdays, to ensure the safety of students and staff. MCPS has a top priority of keeping students safe and allowing all to participate in and enjoy school events. However, some students say that Thursday night football games are not as enjoyable. “I dislike [Thursday night football games] because there is school the next day and a lot of people choose to not go because they have a lot of work,” Kelley said.

Furthermore, football games are being pushed to Thursdays due to religious holidays. According to the MoCo Show, “[w]eek 3 games will all be played on Thursday night due to religious holiday that weekend,” following the coverage of the 2023 MCPS football schedule. 

Students have expressed interest in having football games moved back to Fridays. “Yes, I would be able to go, I have a lot of homework and I don’t want to stay out that late on a school night,” junior Vivian Stoeva said.

Although changes to the football schedules in MCPS remain a point of discussion, MCPS continues to be committed to providing enjoyable events for students and staff while ensuring safety is its top priority.