Friday night lights are back, and Leon County Schools' electrifying first home football game of the season between Godby and Rickards high schools on Aug. 21 was a jampacked one at Gene Cox Stadium – with part of the reason being a covert scheme some people used to gain entry.

The well-attended rivalry game between Godby High School's Cougars and Rickards High School's Raiders – in which Godby ended a six-game losing streak against Rickards with a 35-13 victory – was because, at least in part, some attendees were using a valid digital ticket and then sharing screenshots of it with others in an attempt to gain additional entry using the same ticket.

The screengrab images were not detected at the time.

"This created a situation where the number of individuals attempting to enter the venue exceeded the number of legitimate tickets sold," Benny Bolden, director of Leon County Schools' Interdivisional Support Services and Secondary Schools, said in a written response to LCS board chair Marcus Nicolas about the issue. 

"Additionally, Friday night’s matchup generated an exceptional level of interest," he added. "With student athletes on both teams having NIL (name, image and likeness) deals, there was increased excitement and attention surrounding the game, which contributed to a larger-than-usual crowd and increased demand for admission."

Related news: Godby ends six-game skid against crosstown rival Rickards in 35-13 win

Leon Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna says securing a larger venue in the future, such as Bragg Stadium at Florida A&M University, is a possible solution. 

"We had some ticket verification issues," Hanna said during an Aug. 24 LCS board meeting. "Just know moving forward, we're going to have a conversation with ... people at (Florida) A&M to see if there's any possibility to (use) Bragg." 

Approximately 4,550 people attended the Friday game while the Cox stadium holds 5,000 people, according to district spokesperson Chris Petley.

Despite the ticket verification issue, Nicolas said the Friday night rivalry was a "fantastic football game." Leon County School Board member Rosanne Wood agreed, saying, "It warms my heart that the game was that packed." 

Nicolas added: "I go to that game every year, but the crowd was much larger this year than it had been in years past."

Godby-Rickards rivalry football game was 'like Christmas Eve'

The school district uses GoFan as its digital ticketing platform, which manages ticket availability based on the seating capacity of each venue, according to Bolden. Once the established ticket allotment is reached, additional tickets are no longer available for purchase.

Chief of Safety and Security Jimmy Williams said he's glad Hanna suggested the idea of moving to a larger venue for future games that are expected to generate a high level of interest. As FAMU's Bragg Stadium is in mind, the university venue has a seating capacity of 19,633. The school district has used Bragg Stadium in the past for a 2019 Big Bend football spring jamboree event.

Earlier this month, three of the school district's games were canceled due to weather during the opening weekend of the high school football season, Williams explained to school board members Monday. 

"That, plus Godby and Rickards and all the excitement that was in the community, it was like Christmas Eve for a lot of people to come see that game, and it was super exciting," Williams said. "The game was amazing and the energy was high."

He also explained some of the practices he and his team have been implementing to prevent safety and security issues during games. 

"Years ago, it was OK to have fans standing around in empty spaces, but what we've learned in the last three or four years is that it's not good practice," Williams said. "We're very proactive about screening fans, and we're seeing the benefits as parents and fans come in. They're at ease and they're more comfortable."

When it comes to how the school district plans to prevent the ticketing issue from happening again, procedures involving tickets and entries are currently being reviewed. 

"We are reviewing our gate and ticket-validation procedures to address the screenshot issue and strengthen our entry process," Bolden said. "Our goal is to ensure that one valid ticket equals one admission, while continuing to utilize GoFan’s ticket-allotment controls to appropriately manage venue capacity."

Tarah Jean can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Godby-Rickards football game exposes ticket sharing scheme at Gene Cox