Indian Hill accused Taft of vandalizing its high school football locker room after their playoff game in Ohio on Friday. However, that may not be the real story.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened.
This latest high school football controversy seems to be, at very least, a negligent misunderstanding. It could also be a targeted effort to place false blame. The truth will come out after an investigation.
Indian Hill accused its high school football opponent of vandalism.
Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School, best known as just Taft, is located in the Over-The-Rhine area of greater downtown Cincinnati. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 7-12. The demographic makeup is consistent with the broader Cincinnati Public Schools district, which is 59.1% Black, 20.5% White, 12.1% Hispanic/Latino, and 1.2% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander.
Indian Hill High School is located in the Indian Hill suburb of Cincinnati, approximately 15 miles northeast of Over-The-Rhine. It enrolls approximately 700 students in grades 9-12. The demographic makeup is 74.1% White, 11.5% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 5.3% Hispanic and 3.5% Black.
Those demographic breakdowns will be important later.
Taft and Indian Hill both finished the high school football season undefeated. The latter beat the former by six points in the Division IV regional semifinal on Friday, 25-19, with a last-second stop at the goal line.
A thriller from start to finish Indian Hill holds on 25-19 over Taft on a last second defensive play at the goal line. pic.twitter.com/6jSl7mB7PB
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 15, 2025
Unfortunately, the Senators are being accused of vandalism after the loss. The Braves claim the visitors trashed their locker room out of anger and filed a police report.
The police report claims the drywall inside the locker room was damaged after last Friday’s game ended. It also goes on to say the ceiling was damaged and garbage was left on the floor.
Indian Hills athletic director Brian Phelps told police that he will be speaking with Cincinnati Public Schools for reimbursement for the damages. He also said he will contact the athletic director of the league about the players’ behavior. He is not looking for criminal charges.
Cincinnati Public Schools released the following statement:
“We do not condone destructive behavior and remain committed to promoting sportsmanship and respect at all athletic events. Cincinnati Public Schools will continue to work with the leadership of Indian Hill.”
However, the police report does not appear to tell the true story of what happened. The accusations against Taft do not seem legitimate.
Taft rejects the allegations.
Danny Seafler pushed back against the allegations in a lengthy post on Facebook. Taft’s wide receivers coach condemns all of the racism that has been directed toward his team and his players over what they claim are completely untrue and unfounded claims of poor behavior.
Here is a screenshot of the timestamped photo Seafler mentions in his post:
As you can see, the image was captured at 5:43 p.m. and the holes already exist. Kickoff did not take place until 7:00 p.m.
Other high school football coaches are also backing the Senators.
Koury Johnson Sr. is the head coach at Finneytown. Finneytown lost at Indian Hil on Oct. 3.
He says the holes were already there. They are not new.
“I coached there against them this year…. Those holes were there when we were there in week 6 too 🤷♂️. Do with that information what you will.”
Neither school has released an additional statement as of this writing. Nor has the Cincinnati Public School district. This investigation remains ongoing.