At first it sounded like a gunshot, but it wasn't.
Not knowing for sure, spectators cleared the bleachers at Art Crate Field in Spanaway, and the Lincoln High School and Spanaway Lake High School football teams rushed off the field.
News Tribune reporter Jon Manley, covering the game, noticing an altercation in the stands beforehand, heard the same sound and made the same assumption initially, but the incident turned out to be a merciful false alarm.
"Being told now it was a car backfiring, NOT a gun shot," Manley tweeted a few moments later.
Given the confusion and disarray at the field, officials decided to call the game in Lincoln's favor, Manley reported. The Abes led 38-19 at the end of third quarter.
Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said he wasn't too concerned for himself personally, but was concerned for the safety of his players during the panic.
"I fear for our players and the families, yes," Matsumoto said. "One of our players, I couldn't get him off the field because his family was sitting on the (Spanaway Lake) side, so he was kind of in a bind. Luckily, I got him off and later he said he was hesitant because his family was over there."
With players still all over the place and with their families, Spanaway Lake coach Cameron Robak talked with Matsumoto and agreed it was best to call the game, rather than trying to complete it or finish the fourth quarter on a different day.
