Baltimore high school football rivals suspended from playoffs following fight

Two of Baltimore’s best high school football teams will not be allowed to participate in the postseason following fights that broke out after their matchup on Friday night.

Baltimore City College (Md.) and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Md.) share one of the most intense rivalries in the nation, and in this case, it continued after the final whistle at Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins University, a neutral site.

According to Tim Tooten at WBALTV, the incidents began by the 30-yard line after City celebrated their 24-16 win and involved both players and spectators.

The district’s athletic director Tiffany Byrd explained the decision in a letter to both schools.

“Consistent with (Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association) rules and Baltimore City Public Schools athletic guidelines, when a team engages in a fight, they are automatically suspended for the next game. For both of our teams, this means that they will not participate in the state playoffs. We wanted to provide this communication as quickly as we could since state playoff brackets are being announced today. While the playoff game forfeiture is final, there could be additional consequences as we continue to review available information…”

Byrd also noted this was not the first time that these two teams have had a similar incident.

City finishes their season with a 6-3 record, and Poly at 7-2.

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