SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Georgia high school football was back at it Friday for the first time since a bench-clearing fight delayed games across metro-Atlanta.
The Georgia High School Association allowed Gainesville High School to compete with all its players during Friday’s quarterfinal matchup against Langston-Hughes High School.
Courtney Francisco will be live from South Fulton on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
“A lot of people were upset because this is Georgia football,” said Alaysia Stone-Betonts.
She’s a Gainesville High School senior, and she was at the game against Brunswick that ended in a fight on the field.
“It was scary. It was crazy to see in person,” said Stone-Betonts.
The Georgia High School Association suspended dozens of players and fined both teams $5,000.
However, Gainesville City Schools appealed the decision all the way to a Hall County judge who ordered the board of trustees to wait until he could take a look at the case.
The board challenged that and said it would delay Gainesville’s game until the courts settled it.
Langston-Hughes parents pointed out that decision delayed games all the way up to the championship.
“You know, it’s like, why we get punished?” said Connie Cleave. “It delayed everybody in this region.”
Monday, the High School Association decided to allow Gainesville to compete Dec. 5 with all their players while the suspension debate plays out in court.
“Watching the game get delayed because of the fight was, like, heartbreaking,” said Stone-Betonts. “At the end of the day, we got to play our game.”
Roswell was supposed to play Thomas County Central Dec. 5. That semi-final is now set for next week.
The championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is now set for Dec. 17.
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