The Stamford High Black Knights won a hard fought battle on Friday the 13th, 48-39, in a highly anticipated game against rival New Canaan.

New Canaan’s new coaching staff includes Danny Melzer, former head coach and student of Stamford High, and his entire staff with exception of Zach Smith (Smith went on to become the current head coach for Stamford High). Melzer was an active member of the Stamford community as well as a major reason for the Black Knights’ success over the past four years, producing several FCIAC and CIAC tournament appearances.

Prior to the game Friday afternoon, social media played a role in the anticipation for the Black Knight fans. Black Knight Nation displayed a hostile post from a New Canaan student on their twitter page, with the hope of making fans more excited and energetic for the game later that evening. Comments emerged between New Canaan and Stamford High students which caused one New Canaan student to be suspended for prejudice comments.

Stamford high school’s fan base, Black Knight Nation, made the best of the situation by using it as an incentive to rally an impressive showing in New Canaan Friday.

Senior Black Knight captain, Nico Laveris, said “Our fans brought an energy to the game that made us hard to beat. It felt good to win the way we did against our old coaches. I have Nothing but respect for those guys but that was definitely a game we wanted. Tevin played well and Jelani hit a big shot which was key down the stretch. Our fans are great and we’re all looking forward to playing more games like that one in front of crowds like that. It’s a great time.”