Friday night’s second-round Class 5A playoff matchup between Gainesville and Brunswick took an unfortunate turn when a fight broke out near the end of the third quarter.
Following a review of the incident, the Georgia High School Association, announced that 39 Gainesville players have been suspended for this week’s state quarterfinal showdown.
The GHSA also handed down a fine of $5,000 to the school.
Gainesville is scheduled to face Langston Hughes this Friday night. The Red Elephants have requested to appeal the ruling Tuesday morning, virtually before the GHSA Board of Trustees.
A total of 41 Brunswick players were suspended following the incident. The GHSA issued a $5,000 fine to the school, and the Brunswick football program has been placed on probation for the 2026–27 school year. As a result, they will be ineligible for postseason play next season.
Update 12/1/2025
GHSA Executive Director Dr. Tim Scott announced that Gainesville and Langston Hughes to play despite the organization’s appeal of the injunction granted to Gainesville High School last Wednesday. The judge’s ruling overturned the suspension of 34 Gainesville players who were penalized for leaving the sideline and fighting with Brunswick two weeks ago.
That means , the Class 5A quarterfinal between Langston Hughes and Gainesville is officially rescheduled for December 5th and the Red Elephants will be able to compete with all of their players.
The delay also impacts the opposite side of the bracket: Roswell and Thomas County Central will no longer play on Friday, December 5th. Their semifinal matchup has been moved to Thursday, December 11th.
Additionally, the winner of Langston Hughes–Gainesville will face Rome on December 11th as well, to determine which two teams will advance to the GHSA state championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 17th at 8pm.
The 6A game will swap places with the 5A finals which was previously scheduled for Tuesday December 16th.
Update 12/10/2025
During a called virtual Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday morning, Brunswick Principal Slade Turner and District Athletic Director Steve Waters appealed the penalties issued to Brunswick High following an on-field fight with Gainesville during the second round of the GHSA football playoffs in November.
Originally, the GHSA suspended 41 Brunswick players, including two who were ejected based on the officials' game report. Those sanctions came under scrutiny after Gainesville won an injunction overturning its own suspensions, citing inconsistent punishment compared to a similar incident between Northeast and Southwest High Schools in Macon earlier in August.
Following discussion, the Board of Trustees voted 11–1 to overturn 39 of the Brunswick suspensions and downgrade the program's probation to a "severe warning." Waters, who also serves on the Board of Trustees, abstained from the vote. The ruling now allows the Brunswick Pirates to remain eligible for postseason play next season.
The ejection of the two players, who were ejected during the game by the on field officials, was not overturned and those players will still serve a one-game suspension. Fines issued to both Brunswick and Gainesville will remain in place and were not challenged.
