FENTRESS COUNTY, Tenn. — A fight broke out at a state semifinal high school football game on Friday. Pushing and punching interrupted the game between York Agricultural Institute and East Robertson in the fourth quarter.
Two players from York and one from East Robertson were ejected, according to TSSAA. The East Robertson player must sit out his next game, which is the championship. The York players will have to sit out their next contest as well, even if it's a game next season.
"I believe I bleed purple and gold," said Gage Miller, a York Dragons fan. "Since day one in freshman year, I've went to almost every football basketball soccer baseball softball game."
This time, the game between the York Dragons and East Robertson High School took a different turn.
"The fourth quarter, a play goes up. We're 35 to 31. The score, I mean, it's close," Miller said. "I mean, we had two minutes and 30 seconds left. But instead of, you know, the play going on, the guy gets tackled by our quarterback ... Then, their player number zero comes in and just shoves them down."
It was a whole brawl on the field that expanded to the stands, Miller said.
"In the fan sections, it was rough," Miller said. "The cheerleaders had to move sides due to players cussing at them and dumping water on them. It was rough."
This was an important game for both teams. In the end, East Robertson High School won the matchup.
"The other team (East Robertson High School) have never been in the semifinals, period," Miller said. "All good things have to come to an end and with a 35 - 31, we made history."