Suspensions not expected for Linden following fight
The Alabama High School Athletic Association will not make its disciplinary announcements regarding the Linden and Wilcox Central brawl until next week.
However, the expectation, according to sources with knowledge of the situation is that Linden is not likely to face any state-issued suspensions while Wilcox Central could be hit with as many as 16 for its role in the melee.
Linden head coach Andro Williams declined to comment on any discussion with AHSAA officials regarding the incident.
“I’m not going to comment on anything concerning it,” Williams said.
The altercation took place with 1:31 left on the third quarter clock Thursday night in Linden with the Patriots leading 47-8. After Linden running back Marquise Shelton toted the ball down the Jaguar sideline to the Wilcox 10 yard line on a 17-yard run, an altercation broke out between players.
A number of Jaguar players left the bench area to involve themselves in the fray. After reviewing the film, Linden head coach Andro Williams was able to confirm that none of his players left the sidelines during the incident.
“We didn’t have any players leave the bench area,” Williams confirmed.
Following the incident, game officials signaled for the ejection of 16 players from each team. A lengthy discussion with the head coaches revealed several mismatches between the numbers of the supposed ejected players for Linden and those that were actually on the Patriot roster. The discussion ultimately produced the decision to call the game rather than risking further incident.
While the specifics of the potential penalties are not known at this juncture, Linden and Wilcox are each likely to face fines for each of the players involved in the fight.
Williams will wait to hear the final word on the sanctions but indicated he has turned his attention to Linden’s next opponent, region rival A.L. Johnson.
“You’ve got to show up to play or you’ll have problems,” Williams said. “We’ve just got to try to take the positives out of the situation and go from there.”
Continue to follow WestAlabamaWatchman.com for further updates as they become available.