iStockphoto / Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union
Asher Ghioto mocked Bishop Kenny after a rivalry win.
Students at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida became the subjects of a police investigation after a failed football rivalry prank.
The pregame antics backfired in more ways than one. Not only was the group stopped by authorities, but their school was mocked after a blowout loss.
The defeat came at the hands of Bolles School, a Top 20 ranked program in the Sunshine State. Bishop Kenny, meanwhile, entered ranked No. 80.
There would be no upset bids on Friday night. Bolles took care of business despite the pregame shenanigans.
Florida High School football prank sparks investigation.
Both schools are located in Jacksonville, with their campuses less than 10 miles apart. Bolles School competes in Division 2A District 3 with an enrollment of 1,750 students from pre-K up to 12th grade.
Bishop Kenny serves close to 1,400 students grades 9-12. The football program plays at the 3A level in District 3.
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Bolles School is less than 10 miles away from Bishop Kenny.
Each team entered the rivalry matchup with identical 1-1 records. Before kickoff, five Bishop Kenny students snuck onto the Bolles campus to tarp the field with a pair of messages.
One read, “$$$ don’t win games,” and another was an expletive directed at the Bulldogs. That joke turned into a police investigation after the pranksters were spotted by a security officer.
More from USA Today:
A Bolles security officer reported seeing five individuals wearing ski masks attempting to climb a fence onto the school’s football field shortly after midnight on Friday, Sept. 11.
The individuals fled when they saw the security officer, according to the report, leaving in a gray Chevrolet pickup truck.
A sheriff’s deputy later stopped a vehicle matching the description and detained five occupants. The report states all five were students at Bishop Kenny High School, with multiple non-football athletes involved…
Students told officers their school was scheduled to play Bolles that night and that they wanted to pull a prank by leaving a banner on the field featuring the Bishop Kenny logo… All five were subsequently trespassed from the school and warned that they could be arrested if they returned, according to the report.
Nothing was stolen from the premises. Not property was damaged. Bolles would not comment as it is a “current legal matter.”
Bolles blew Bishop Kenny out.
The prank failed in the sense that the students getting caught. It backfired further with Bishop Kenny being mocked.
Five-star Bolles football player Asher Ghioto posted an image of the banners to social media. He wrote a caption that read, “Breaking into our school you goofs just to get killed.”
Ghioto is ranked as one of the top five players in the 2028 recruiting class. He is the nation’s best defensive end and boasts offers from every major program in the country. According to 247 Sports, it appears he’s focused his recruitment on Florida, Miami, and Texas A&M.
Bolles won the game 35-13. It was not competitive. The Bulldogs did not allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter of play with the result well in hand.
For Bishop Kenny students, it was a double whammy. Bolles got the last laugh in this year’s rivalry edition.