Two New Jersey high school football teams banned from playoffs after brawl

A pair of high school football programs in New Jersey are no longer eligible for this year’s state playoffs after a brawl during their game on Saturday.

Weequahic and West Side each had more than three players ejected due to the incident, triggering the state’s “3-DQ rule.” If more than three players on an individual team are ejected from a game, that team is subject to disqualification from the postseason.

“Any varsity team accumulating three or more player or coach disqualifications for flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct prior to the start of a tournament will not be permitted to participate in same,” per the NJSIAA’s Guidelines, Policies and Procedures.

According to game footage reviewed by NJ.com, the brawl began with 6:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. It eventually got so out of hand that the game was called final by officials at that point, with Weequahic leading 24-0. Several fans also rushed onto the field, and several other fights broke out in the stands and outside the stadium, according to Catherine Adams, a spokeswoman for Newark police.

The brawl appears to have started when a West Side player slammed a Weequahic player to the ground near midfield, according to video footage obtained by NJ Advance Media. Multiple Weequahic players then raced from their huddle and the sideline across the field.

“Newark police broke up fights and dispersed the crowds gathered around the fights, but made no arrests,” Adams told NJ.com.

In addition to being banned from the playoffs, each of the players ejected for fighting are now suspended for the next game as well. West Side, which left the game 0-5, was unlikely to make the playoffs anyways. But Weequahic, which now sits at 4-1 after the victory, was in line for a state playoff berth if they could continue their winning ways.

Instead, both teams are poised to be at home when the postseason rolls around.

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