Two Los Angeles schools have been forced into forfeits in the aftermath of a massive brawl that erupted between the sides during their final game of September. Yet, the game that's being forfeited isn't the one in which both teams were involved in the major brawl. Rather, it's the games that each team was scheduled to play on Friday, after both teams lost so many players to suspension that they couldn't even field a team.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a skirmish between players for San Bernadino (Calif.) High and Palm Desert (Calif.) High escalated into a full-fledged, massive, game-ending brawl that culminated when fans from the San Bernadino stands began spilling onto the field to try and take part in the melee.
By the time it was all over, referees had called off the remainder of the game with Palm Desert holding a 45-6 lead. Still, parents, players and seemingly anyone associated with San Bernadino was still so enraged that Palm Desert had to have school buses drive on to the field to get players and coaches out safely.
You can see video footage of the entire unseemly event above, though even that doesn't do true justice to the sheer bedlam that engulfed the San Bernadino facility on Friday.
After receiving and reviewing similar footage, officials from the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section ruled that any players who left the bench would have to serve the state standard minimum one-game suspension. That in turn ruled out so many players for both Palm Desert and San Bernadino that neither team could field a squad for this weekend's games, forcing both to forfeit.
One could make the case that both schools should have forfeited the Palm Desert victory the week prior because of the incorrigible actions of the players and fans involved, yet it doesn't appear as if that will come to pass. Nonetheless, the penalty handed down to both teams could dramatically change the outcome of their seasons, with both schools deprived of another shot at a win.
And all of this came about because of some shortsighted actions by a handful that led to a previously conflict-free game to spiral into sheer bedlam.
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