The Elizabeth School District has moved the high school’s two remaining home football games to Saturdays during the day after a brawl broke out last Friday night after a game.
The brawl took place alongside the McDonald’s drive-thru on Fillmore Street, located only a block from the Elizabeth High football field. The fight started just moments after the last seconds of the game ticked off the clock.
The fight was recorded on camera. The video shows students punching and kicking one another. Two brothers were badly beaten. Police say that one of them is a 17-year-old Elizabeth student who was continuously kicked while lying unconscious on the pavement. He was eventually taken to University Hospital in Newark. Police say his 19-year-old brother was treated for a head wound at Trinitas Hospital.
Both are expected to be OK.
In response to the fight, the two remaining home games were moved from Friday nights to Saturday during the day.
A spokesperson for the school district says in a statement, "To assist the Elizabeth police and [school] district security personnel, the start time for the two remaining home games has been moved to 11:30 on Saturdays…Students attending must be accompanied by a parent or guardian."
Players are not very happy about the change.
"It's a big part of high school, playing under the lights on Friday. It sucks but there's not really much you can do about it after what happened,” says senior linebacker Thiam Grimaud.
The game between Elizabeth and Westfield last week was played without incident. Elizabeth lost that game 38-20. The district always has security and police at those games.
Students tell News 12 the argument that led to the brawl started in the stands but moved away from the field to avoid police.
Police are using the video of the brawl to identify those who were involved. Criminal charges may be filed.