In the hunt for the state Group A championship, the boys basketball team from Chesterfield Community High has attracted a crowd of vocal fans from James River High.

“I get chills every time I talk about it,“ said Chesterfield Community High Principal Jamie Accashian. “I just don’t know how to put something like this into words.“

The support from James River began when Amy Azano, who teaches English and sponsors the Do Something Club at James River High, attended Chesterfield Community’s regional championship game on Feb. 25 with her husband, Matt, who teaches English at Community High. Observing that fans from Community High were significantly outnumbered during Chesterfield Community’s 62-49 loss to Clarke County High, she reached out to the Do Something Club seeking support for Chesterfield Community during the state tournament.

James River High students quickly responded. On March 4, James River filled a bus with students wearing Community High’s colors of red, white and blue. These “Community Crazies” - modeled on James River’s “Rapid Rowdies” fan section - cheered loudly throughout the quarterfinal game, which Chesterfield Community won 71-65 over Northumberland High.
“I had never been more proud to be a James River High teacher,“ Azano said, “because these young people showed everyone that it’s not who you root for but what you stand for.“

Accashian agrees: “It’s absolutely awesome. I’ve been involved in sports for many, many years, but I’ve never been associated with something that’s so touching and so giving. To see these kids who took it upon themselves to get a bus, pay their way into the game and support a team that they did not even know is awesome.“

With a 20-7 record, Chesterfield Community High will meet Clarke County High again - this time in the state semifinals game at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at VCU’s Siegel Center. The “Community Crazies” plan to be there.

About Chesterfield Community High

The objective of Chesterfield Community High is to prevent at-risk students from dropping out of high school. Chesterfield Community is an intervention school for students who have not been successful in a traditional high school setting.
Chesterfield Community began in 1991 as a program for at-risk students at Meadowbrook High. Through the years, it has grown under the leadership of Principal Jamie Accashian. In 2002, Chesterfield Community moved into its current quarters at 12400 Branders Bridge Road and became Chesterfield County Public Schools’ first charter school. About 275 students attend Chesterfield Community High.
This is the fourth season that Chesterfield Community has fielded a boys basketball team. The coach is Toby Campbell, who is also the school’s athletic director.

About the Do Something Club at James River High

The Do Something Club aspires to promote charitable and humanitarian work with innovative and exciting ideas to encourage students to become more actively involved in community, to enrich the high school experience and to better the lives of others.

A special thanks to Lauren Trani, sophomore at James River High School and Dawn Lentz art teacher at Chesterfield Community High for their photographs.