Written by Alyssa LeMay |
Photo by Joelle Vuilleumier |

On Friday, March 3rd, the first Shoreline final game was played at Morgan. The game was between the Westbrook Knights and the East Hampton Bell Ringers. The stands were full and the excess fans were able to sit in the upper hub and watch the game through the glass.

The doors were opened approximately two hours before the start of the game, and the stands were close to full by 5:30 pm. By 6:30 pm the line to get into the game went from the gym doors to the hallway leading to the art room and tech classes. 

Fans that came after 6:30 pm were told they were not allowed to enter. The staff working the game did not want to turn people away, but there is a limit to the number of people allowed in the Morgan gym due to safety issues.  The maximum room capacity for the gym is approximately 850 people, for the Shoreline final game, 843 fans came in and watched the game.

A Park and Rec staff member, Justin Stephenson, was asked to go to the event to watch the crowds. “I didn’t see anything I’d deem out of control. I heard later there was one incident a police officer had to intervene on, but other than that I thought it was really under control.”

Justin’s job is to watch the crowd and take care of any situations in which the crowd is shouting rude comments or showing disrespect to the players or other crowd members. For the championship game, Justin was moved to man the far side door since fans were trying to sneak in.

Athletic Director, Kevin Rayel, also attended the game, “There was a great turnout, fans were great, but we may have to look into a bigger venue for the future.”

There was discussion of moving the game to the New Haven Hill House venue but many reported back that they would not go to the game if it was not on the Shoreline.

The Morgan Booster Club had a concession stand that was very successful and attracted a lot of positive attention at the game! It was a very busy night for the Booster Club and the rest of the Morgan and Clinton Staff.

This was the biggest event held at The new Morgan School so far, and the facilities held up well. The Morgan staff expected a large turnout for the game, and they were right! The gym was full of excited fans and the Morgan Staff was welcoming and energetic.