Ohio High School Officials Drop Suspension Against Student Football Game Prankster

HILLIARD, Ohio – School officials decided to ease up on a student who tricked football fans from a rival school into spelling out "We Suck."

High school senior Kyle Garchar got himself banned from extracurricular activities. But officials at Hilliard Davidson High say the punishment has been lifted because since the prank, Garchar has represented the school well before the community.

They also point to his noble attempt at repeating the stunt in a more positive manner. At a game last Friday, he handed out blue or white cards to a section of his school's Davidson Wildcats fans. When they held up them up, Garchar expected a display of "Go Cats." But this time, it was all just a jumble.

Garchar said he spent about 20 hours over three days plotting the trick, which was captured on video and posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube. He said he was inspired by a similar prank pulled by Yale students in 2004, when Harvard fans were duped into holding up cards with the same message.

At the end of the video, Garchar wryly thanks the 800 Hilliard Darby High School supporters who raised the cards at the start of the third quarter during last Friday's football game.

"It couldn't have been done without you," reads the closing frame of the video.

Garchar, 17, created a grid to plan how the message would be spelled out once fans in three sections held up either a black or white piece of construction paper.

Directions left on stadium seats instructed fans to check that the number listed on their papers matched their seat numbers. Darby supporters were told the message would read "Go Darby."