A 45-0 junior varsity victory and a great 16-23 effort against the higher ranked Hamilton High Yankees should have been a reason for celebration in Fairfax on October 16. However, situations quickly changed for the worse.
The JV team managed to blow out Hamilton’s JV team. Hamilton had chances to score, but at the end of the game, it was clear that Fairfax was going to win by a large 45-point margin.
Riding the momentum of JV’s success, the varsity team ran out onto the field with confidence and high expectations against the the Hamilton Yankees. Unfortunately, Hamilton scored a touchdown on its first play after receiving the ball on kick-off.
For Fairfax fans that had witnessed the JV blowout earlier, this seemed  to be a gloomy omen of Fairfax being blown out.
However, by half time, Fairfax managed to score and trail by a touchdown. The momentum could have shifted towards the Lions in the last seconds of the half had they managed to get a touchdown. Instead, the offense fumbled it all the way to the 50 yard line, ending any chance of the Lions taking the lead. Hamliton took possession of the ball and kept it until the first half was over.
By the end of half time, the Lions held on to their slim trailing of Hamilton, but soon let it slip away in the third quarter. As the game came to a close, a few Hamilton students who came over from the visitors’ side began a disturbance in the parking lot behind the home grandstand.
While the Lions were on the field fighting for a chance at victory, another battle was occurring in the parking lot during the fourth quarter. The melee escalated to the point where people in the stands became distracted and crowded to the top of the stands to witness the fight.
According to the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), approximately 100 students were involved in the parking lot melee during the final quarter of the Fairfax-Hamilton football game.
An ambulance, helicopter, and LAPD reinforcements were called in to help contain the situation and escort the injured to the hospital. Police arrested four students and one adult. The Los Angeles Times erronously reported that the four students were from Fairfax, an error repeated by the Colonial Gazette in a prior report. No Fairfax students were arrested.
LAPD Sergeant Patrick Lynch  confirms that while no member of either football teams was involved in the fight, four of those arrested  were Fairfax students.
 As the game continued, more police cars arrived, which were soon followed by a helicopter that beamed its light on the field and parking lot. Nevertheless, both teams on the field managed to stay focused on the game.
As the final seconds of the game ticked down, security began to close the parking lot gate and direct the crowd around the parking lot. This caused a traffic jam, but no serious incidents were reported.