FAR ROCKAWAY — Coach Walter Wilkerson of the Far Rockaway Educational Campus Seahorses was in the locker room giving his team a halftime pep talk Saturday when a former player came rushing in.
"Coach," the player said, "they're shooting outside."
Wilkerson, a varsity coach at the school for nearly a decade, rushed outside and found chaos as spectators — who had packed the bleachers for the annual homecoming celebration — ran for safety.
His opponents, who were up 16-0 at the half, had stayed on the field during halftime.
"I look down to the field and I see [William Cullen] Bryant High School's football team flat on their stomachs on the ground," he said.
Shots were fired on Cornaga Avenue, next to the field, at roughly 1:30 p.m. Oct. 10, police said.
Nobody was injured, although a Bryant player's parent's car window was shattered by a bullet, Wilkerson and police said.
Fans told the coach they only heard gunfire, not an argument or any kind of yelling leading up to it.
"They just heard the gunshots," he said.
It's unclear if there was a motive behind the shooting. A spokesman for the Department of Education said the shooting "was a non-school related incident and no one from the school was injured."
But it left fans and players shaken as the team — consisting of players from the multiple high schools inside what used to be Far Rockaway High School — makes changes going forward.
"This is the very first time I've experienced a shooting during a football game," Wilkerson said. "We have never had a situation like that before."
Both teams decided to end the game at the half, and Bryant is listed as the official winner on PSAL's website.
The Seahorses, who are 4 and 2 this season, were hoping for a surge in the second half to win the game. But Wilkerson's concerns were about everyone's safety.
"Bryant wanted to get out of Far Rockaway," he said, and his own players were "visibly upset."
"With the kids, I'm thinking of how to pick up the pieces for the rest of the season," he said.
The team's next four games are away, so he won't have to worry about security at their field behind the school.
"We're not going to allow any spectators at practice," he said, noting that classmates often sit and watch his team during afternoon practice.
Wilkerson said he'd rather talk about the hard work of his team than what happens outside, which is out of his control.
"These are all the things I shouldn't have to worry about, I should just worry about coaching the game," he said.
