Geese Force CMS To Move High School Football Game

Friday night’s football game won’t be played at home as scheduled for the Garinger High School Wildcats. Students can blame more than 100 geese, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said.

Recently the number of geese visiting the football field has tripled, and they’re leaving behind hundreds of bird droppings. A CMS spokeswoman said the irrigation system usually keeps the birds away, but the drought has forced the school to cut back on its water use.

CMS has now gotten in touch with the Mecklenburg County Health Department and Animal Control to see what can be done to get rid of the animals.

“We've been monitoring it for the last couple of weeks and felt we could handle the problem. But they just kept coming and it's become a health issue,” said Vicki Hamilton, CMS athletic director.

The school has gotten a lot of offers for help, even one of them from a man who helped get rid of the geese at Freedom Park in Charlotte.

CMS has two weeks to figure it out. Garinger's next home game is set for September 28. Officials said they're not going to clean up the mess on that field until they can figure out how to get rid of the geese for good, and they're confident they'll be able to do it in time for that next game.

Friday's game has been moved to North Mecklenburg High School’s stadium, where Garinger will take on the North Mecklenburg Vikings. DISCUSSION: What Should School Officials Do To Get Rid Of The Geese?HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Post Your Game Day Video And Pictures, Check Out Scores, Schedules And Highlights